Russia Demands Military and Economic Support from China

US Closely Watching Whether to Provide Aid to China

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] U.S. government officials reported that Russia requested military and economic support from China after invading Ukraine last month.

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 13th (local time) that "Russia requested support from China regarding the Ukraine war."

After Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine on the 24th of last month, the Russian government requested military equipment and support from China. However, U.S. government officials did not specify what equipment Russia sought due to intelligence collection security reasons.

Additionally, as major countries worldwide including the U.S., Europe, and Asia imposed extensive sanctions against Russia, Russia requested additional economic support to counter the resulting economic downturn. The NYT reported, "U.S. government officials declined to comment on how the Chinese government responded to these requests for security reasons."

Chinese President Xi Jinping has been strengthening cooperative relations with President Putin. U.S. government officials are closely monitoring whether China will comply with Russia's aid requests.

Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, is scheduled to meet Yang Jiechi, Chinese Politburo member responsible for foreign affairs, in Rome, Italy on the 14th to warn against providing support to Russia related to the Ukraine war. In an interview with CNN that day, Sullivan said, "We are directly and privately telling the Chinese government that 'if Russia is helped or supported to evade large-scale sanctions, there will be consequences.'"

However, he did not directly mention China's military support to Russia. A U.S. government official who requested anonymity explained this was due to the sensitivity of diplomatic and intelligence matters.

The Biden administration hopes China will pressure President Putin to change his policy on invading Ukraine. The NYT stated, "Most current and former U.S. officials believe this is unlikely to happen," but "some officials within the Biden administration think it is possible to persuade China not to increase support for Russia." This suggests that the Chinese government may not want to side with Russia in the Ukraine situation.

Sullivan said, "China knew about Russia's invasion plans before the attack, but President Xi may not have known the full scope of the plan," adding, "It is highly likely that Putin lied to China just as he lied to Europeans and others."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.