Secretary of Protection Lloyd J. Austin III speaks with NATO Secretary Basic Jens Stoltenberg throughout a bilateral alternate on the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Feb. 8, 2023. (DoD picture by U.S. Air Drive Tech. Sgt. Jack Sanders)
By Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com
NATO Secretary-Basic Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday went after China for its commerce relationship with Russia, saying Beijing should cut back its commerce with Moscow to have good relations with the West.
Western officers typically accuse China of supporting Russia’s navy, however there’s no proof of Beijing transport weapons. As a substitute, they level to China’s export of semiconductors and uncooked supplies.
“Russia’s pals in Asia are important for its conflict effort. At the start, China. China is propping up Russia’s conflict economic system,” Stoltenberg stated. “Sharing high-end know-how like semiconductors and different dual-use gadgets with Russia. Final 12 months, Russia imported 90 p.c of its micro-electronics from China. Used to supply missiles, tanks, and plane.”
Stoltenberg additionally accused China of “fueling” the conflict despite the fact that Beijing has constantly referred to as for peace talks whereas the US and main NATO international locations have discouraged diplomacy and have dumped tens of billions of {dollars} value of weapons into Ukraine.
“China says it needs good relations with the West. On the similar time, Beijing continues to gas the most important armed battle in Europe since World Warfare Two. They can’t have it each methods,” Stoltenberg stated.
US and different Western sanctions on Russia and China have naturally led to the 2 international locations growing their commerce relationship. Accountable Statecraft reported on Wednesday that commerce between Russia and China has risen by 26% since 2022. Russia stated it has virtually utterly dropped the greenback in its commerce with China.
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Dave DeCamp
Dave DeCamp is the information editor of Antiwar.com, observe him on Twitter @decampdave.