NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Sept. 6 urged China to stop aiding and funding Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.
“China has become a decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Oslo. “China is the one that enables [the] production of many of the weapons that Russia uses.
“I call on China to stop supporting Russia’s illegal war.”
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to support Russian military actions in the conflict with Ukraine, despite calls from the global community, including the United States and international organizations, for it to cease its support.
The CCP ignored calls for it to condemn the war when it first broke out in February 2022, instead selling critical technologies and parts used by the Russian military, according to the U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission. After countries around the world began to sanction Russia because of the war, Beijing directed state-run companies to effectively function as middlemen for the Russian military or as brokers reselling Russian imports.
The United States recently announced sweeping sanctions targeting Chinese companies and the Russian metal and mining industry in renewed efforts to block U.S. money from funding the war while putting financial pressure on Russia. China signaled it would continue to trade with Russia.
The CCP generally denies it has aided the Russian war effort, sometimes shifting the blame to the European Union, the United States, or international bodies such as the United Nations for creating “tensions” around Ukraine.
Earlier this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told French media that “if China wants to, it can force Russia to stop this war.” Tensions have grown between Ukraine and China because of some Ukrainian lawmakers’ recognition of Taiwan in forming the Taiwan Friendship Group, according to an exclusive Newsweek report.
The CCP frequently issues warning statements when high-ranking figures in other countries recognize Taiwan and has pressured neighbors in the Pacific region to cut ties with the small island nation. Last month, the Pacific Island Forum, a meeting of 18 member states and other partners, deleted a reference to Taiwan as a “development partner.”
Experts, including CIA Director William Burns and retired Australian Army Maj. Gen. Mick Ryan, have said that the CCP is learning from the Russia–Ukraine war on how to conduct its own invasion of Taiwan. U.S. President Joe Biden has also stated that the U.S. support for Ukraine signals to the CCP the potential cost of attempting to forcibly take Taiwan.