Reports: Russia has been asking China for military aid, equipment

Russia has been asking China for military aid and equipment since beginning its invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago, according to published reports.

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The Washington Post and Financial Times, both quoted anonymous U.S. officials in their reports. The officials did not describe what kind of weapons have been requested by Russians, or whether they knew how China responded, the Post reported.

The news comes as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan travels to Rome on Monday to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, according to the Post.

Jake Sullivan: Russia will pay ‘severe price’ if they use chemical weapons. https://t.co/aqiOGXvS33 pic.twitter.com/9sUzFb9HZw
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 13, 2022

Sullivan wrote on social media that the administration was “communicating directly, privately to Beijing, that there will absolutely be consequences” for any Chinese efforts to assist Russia in evading the economic sanctions that have been imposed by Western allies.

“We will ensure that neither China, nor anyone else, can compensate Russia for these losses,” Sullivan told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “In terms of the specific means of doing that, again, I’m not going to lay all of that out in public, but we will communicate that privately to China, as we have already done and will continue to do.”

Earlier, Sullivan told CNN that a scenario in which China provides support to Russia was “a concern.”

“We also are watching closely to see the extent to which China actually does provide any form of support, material support or economic support, to Russia. It is a concern of ours,” Sullivan said. “And we have communicated to Beijing that we will not stand by and allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses from the economic sanctions.”

According to Reuters, the Chinese embassy in the U.S. said that “the priority right now is to ensure the tense situation does not escalate or get out of control.”

(Reuters) - China's priority is to prevent the tense situation in Ukraine from getting out of control, its embassy in the United States said on Sunday, responding to media reports Moscow had asked Beijing for military equipment since launching its invasion.
— Phil Stewart (@phildstewart) March 13, 2022

Officials said that Russia is running low on some types of weapons.

“If Beijing is offering any type of military assistance to aid Moscow’s war in Ukraine, the spillover effects on U.S.-China policy could be vast,” Eric Sayers, a former adviser to the U.S. Indo Pacific Command, told the Post.

“It would abruptly end debate about pathways to working with Beijing,” Sayers told the newspaper. “More importantly, it would push Washington to accelerate retaliatory and decoupling actions toward China and create new pressure on companies now doing business in China.”

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