China won't sell arms to Russia, foreign minister promises

«When it comes to military exports, China takes a prudent and responsible attitude,» Qin Gang said at a press conference during a visit to Germany. colleague of Annalen Burbock. Photo: SUO TAKEKUMA/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

China will not sell arms to any side in the war in Ukraine, the country's foreign minister said today in response to Western concerns that Beijing might provide military assistance to Russia.

Qin Gang is the first top-level Chinese official to make such a candid statement about arms sales to Russia.

China claims to be neutral in the conflict, supporting Russia politically, rhetorically and economically at a time when Western countries have imposed punitive sanctions and sought to isolate Moscow for invading its neighbor.

Mr. Qin said China will regulate the export of dual-use civilian and military goods.

«With regard to the export of military goods, China takes a reasonable and responsible position,» he said at a press conference along with a visitor German colleague Annalena. Burbock.

«China will not supply weapons to the relevant parties to the conflict and [will] manage and control the export of dual-use goods in accordance with laws and regulations.»

In February, Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State, said the government had intelligence suggesting that China was considering supplying arms and ammunition to Russia.

He warned that such involvement by the Kremlin would be a «serious problem.»

Chinese components in Russian weapons

Mr Qin's remarks came after a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky told Reuters that Ukrainian forces are finding more components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine.

We continue to find various electronics in “weapons recovered from the battlefield,” said Vladislav Vlasyuk, who advises the head of the presidential staff on sanctions policy.

“The trend now is that there are fewer Western components, and more — simple (to) guess in which country the components are produced. Of course, China,” he said in a video call.

Intelligence collected by Ukrainian experts from the battlefield and shared with Reuters showed that Chinese-made components were found in the navigation system of Orlan drones that previously used the Swiss system.

Experts also reported the discovery of Chinese parts in the system fire control in Russian tanks that previously used French-made parts.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the intelligence, including whether the said components may have been intended for non-military use or were transported to Russia by a third party.< /p>

“We assemble a lot of different things made in China,” Mr. Vlasyuk said.

When asked if Chinese companies supplied parts for Russian military equipment, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman told Reuters: “ Throughout history, China has established normal trade cooperation with all countries, including Russia, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.”

“How China has always treated military exports with care and responsibility. China's attitude and actions have always been like this.»