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- The US has information suggesting China responded positively to Russia’s request for military and economic assistance, The Associated Press reported.
- The Financial Times reported that Russia asked its ally for five types of military equipment.
- US officials are worried that China is using the Ukraine conflict to bolster its geopolitical standing.
China has signaled that it may be open to providing some military assistance and financial support to Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, two Biden administration officials told The Associated Press on Monday.
Similarly, CNN reported that the “US has information suggesting China has expressed some openness to providing Russia” with financial and military support, citing a US diplomat and a Western official. And Reuters reported that Moscow received a “positive” response from Beijing regarding its assistance requests, citing a diplomatic cable sent to US embassies that instructed them to disseminate the relevant information to their host governments.
Insider has not reviewed the cables in question. Several outlets reported that the communications did not include specifics regarding the timing of any alleged Chinese assistance to Moscow.
These reports come after a seven-hour meeting between National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Chinese foreign policy advisor Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday that was described by White House press secretary Jen Psaki as “intense.”
The updated assessment follows stories from several news outlets on Monday reporting that Russia had directly asked China for military equipment to use in its assault on Ukraine and economic assistance to help counteract sanctions.
Two officials familiar with the requests told The Financial Times that Russia requested five types of equipment, including surface-to-air missiles, drones, intelligence-related equipment, armored vehicles, and logistical support vehicles.
The outlet previously reported that Russia made the request sometime after the conflict began in late February.
A senior US official reportedly told the FT that its reporting on the equipment list was inaccurate.
CNN said Russia’s request included MREs, known as “meal, ready-to-eat,” or pre-packaged military food supplies.
The Kremlin, however, denied making any such requests to China on Monday, saying Russia was capable of continuing its campaign in Ukraine via President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, according to The AP.
The Chinese embassy in the US, meanwhile, told multiple news outlets that it was not aware of a Russian request for aid or any receptive Chinese response.
Wang told his Spanish counterpart that the country wanted to avoid US sanctions, according to Bloomberg.
“China is not a party to the crisis, nor does it want the sanctions to affect China,” he said in a Monday call. “China has the right to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”
The White House did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
“The National Security Advisor and our delegation raised directly and very clearly our concerns about the PRC’s support to Russia in the wake of the invasion, and the implications that any such support would have for the PRC’s relationship not only with us, but for its relationships around the world,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during a Monday press briefing. “That includes our allies and partners in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific.”
Price declined to answer specific questions regarding reports of the Russian assistance request.
Sullivan was reportedly probing for specifics regarding Beijing’s aims, while warning China that aiding Moscow would result in punishment, according to The AP.
A senior Department of Defense official told reporters Monday that US officials have seen China “basically give tacit approval to what Russia is doing” by refusing to issue sanctions and blaming the West for assisting Ukraine.
The Biden administration is increasingly worried that China is weaponizing the Ukraine conflict to bolster its international standing in its competition with the US, Reuters reported, while a New York Times piece about the balancing act China must do during this war, reported that China sees itself emerging as the victor from this conflict.
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