Report: US Considers Releasing Intelligence on Potential Chinese Arming of Russia

Facts

• On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) — citing unnamed US officials — reported that the Biden admin. is considering releasing intelligence it believes shows that China is deciding if it should supply weapons to support Russia in the war in Ukraine.¹
• The action is being considered following a number of closed-door messages to China from the West not to supply Russia with weapons, including a formal warning last weekend from US Sec. of State Antony Blinken during the Munich Security Conference.¹
• NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg echoed this warning on Thursday and said that the alliance has also recorded signs that China is considering such action. Beijing, however, claims that any alleged evidence that it may supply weapons to Russia is merely speculation.²
• The warnings come as China's top diplomat Wang Yi held talks with Russian officials in Moscow earlier this week and as Beijing released its own proposal to bring the war to an end on Friday — the one-year anniversary of the invasion.¹
• The West has been wary of China's response to the war, with some officials claiming that it has previously supported Moscow by purchasing Russian oil and gas and reportedly sending technology and other materials, though at this point, the country has offered no lethal aid.³
• The potential conflict over potential Chinese weapons support for Russia comes amid escalating tensions between the US and China over Western sanctions on Russia.⁴

Sources: ¹Wall Street Journal, ²Al Jazeera, ³NPR Online News and ⁴Tech2.

Narratives

• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Npr online news. China claims to hold a neutral position regarding the war in Ukraine, but it hasn't criticized Russia and has provided a great deal of aid to the country. While China may deny its obvious allegiance, ultimately, any weapons supplied to Russia by China will be discovered on the battlefields in Ukraine, which would wholly cast its lot with the country, further ostracizing itself from the West.
• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global times. The US has no authority to give orders to China over how to conduct its relations with Russia, especially considering its own interference and manipulation in the war. China has committed itself to finding a peaceful and constructive resolution to the conflict in Ukraine, and any suggestion otherwise is merely the West stirring the pot by feeding its rumor campaign against Beijing.