US Warns European Allies on China Backing Russia’s War Economy
(Bloomberg) -- A senior US official warned that Chinese companies are increasingly involved in boosting Russia’s war economy as President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to unite European allies on the issue.
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Speaking in Lithuania, which has had its own trade tensions with Beijing, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Chinese firms are providing Russia with machine tools, explosives technologies and know-how on wielding space assets.
The cooperation is “widespread,” he said on Thursday as he sought to unify allies behind a concerted effort to stave off Chinese influence even as several European governments strive to maintain links to Beijing. Campbell called for “purposeful statements” from European partners.
“What China is engaged in with Russia is an effort designed to actually change the territorial lines that have existed in Europe and respected by all for decades,” Campbell told reporters in Vilnius after meeting Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. “This is an effort that is antithetical to everything we believe in,” he said.
China has rejected US accusations of supporting Russia’s war. The Foreign Ministry in July said the US was spreading “ungrounded false information” following comments by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that China was fueling the Kremlin’s industrial base.
Lithuania came under pressure from China after it allowed Taiwan to open a trade office in Vilnius. That triggered a backlash from Beijing, which blocked trade, removed the Baltic state from its customs system and nullified Lithuanian diplomats’ identity cards.
Biden administration officials are touring European capitals from London and Brussels to the Baltics to share information with partners about China’s cooperation with Russia and potential implications. The US has also warned that a number of financial institutions, including second- and third-tier banks in both China and Russia, are conducting activities that are now under review.
“What we have asked for European partners is to speak up publicly about the concerns associated with these activities and to also put certain institutions on watch,” Campbell said.
--With assistance from Foster Wong.
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