FT-US Warns Of Closer Sino-Russian Military-Industrial Links

(MNI) London - The FT is reporting that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has warned EU and NATO allies that China is deepening its military-industrial links with Russia, “at a concerning scale”, and providing “tools, inputs and technical expertise”. Senior US officials have ramped up communication on the issue this week.

• Alongside Blinken's warnings, described to the FT by a source as "explicit" and "striking", President Joe Biden voiced concernfor China's, “support for Russia’s defence industrial base and its impact on European and transatlantic security” in a call with President Xi Jinping earlier in the week. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is also believed to have raised the issue in her talks with Vice Premier He Lifeng that took place today in Guangzhou.
• The US has long raised its concerns that China is assisting the Russian defence sector, with a major increase in trade between the two (USD108bn in 2020 rising to USD240bn in 2023). FT: "Beijing maintains it does not provide lethal support to Russia and that it is the west that is “adding fuel to the fire” of the conflict."
• Defense News reports comments from US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, claiming that the US has “...assessed over the course of the last couple of months that Russia has almost completely reconstituted militarily,” with an unnamed source going further in alleging that, “We’ve really seen [China] start to help to rebuild Russia’s defense industrial base, essentially backfilling the trade from European partners”