CCP provides military support to Russia, U.S. targets 5 Chinese companies for sanctions

 Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

News on CCP, Russia, U.S.

News (1)

Wall Street Journal: CCP provides military support to Russia

Reporter : Li Zhaoxi / Editor: Lin Qing / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/07/16/a103480676.html / Image : Residents recover aluminum flakes from a destroyed Russian tank in Biskvetne, east of Kharkov, Ukraine, 16 May 2022. (John Moore/Getty Images)

CCP China has long said it has not sent weapons to Russia, but a Wall Street Journal investigation shows that Chinese goods widely used for military purposes, such as microchips and oxides aluminum, arrived in Russia in large numbers after the Russia-Ukraine war.

A complex web of independent companies and state-owned enterprises has hidden China's overall trade data, which could allow it to bypass U.S. sanctions on trade with Russia, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

In the first five months of 2022, CCP China's chip shipments to Russia more than doubled from a year ago, with exports reaching about $50 million, while exports of other components, such as printed circuits, achieved a double-digit percentage increase. Exports of alumina, a vital material for weapons and aerospace, are 400 times higher than last year.

According to Reuters, CCP's overall trade with Russia rose 12 percent in March from a year earlier, after CCP rebuked the West for sanctions against Russia.

Since the invasion, CCP China has become Russia's largest oil importer, which may be part of the reason for the rise in trade. In June, five Chinese electronics companies accused of supporting the Russian military were blacklisted by the Commerce Department.

"Our government and national leaders have been very clear since 24 February that China should not provide Russia with material, economic and military support in this war." Nicholas Burns, U.S. Ambassador to China told the Wall Street Journal.

Naomi Garcia, a researcher at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), which studies global conflict and transnational security issues, has tracked deals between Russia and a subsidiary of Poly Group, a large state-owned central enterprise in China. Garcia identified 281 previously undisclosed "dual-use" (civil or military) cargo transactions between 2014 and 2022 by Poly Group to Russian defense sector organizations.

"China's state-owned conglomerate conducts sensitive technology deals with Russia's defense sector, including to companies involved in the Russia-Ukraine war," Garcia said in a statement. It also warned that China's export data was poorly transparent and that state-led corporate activity could obscure technology deals that apply to defense.

Garcia stressed that whether or not CCP deliberately made the trade data environment opaque, it ended up obscuring the network of people and companies involved in the trade in military equipment and undermining global non-proliferation efforts but Garcia told The Wall Street Journal that after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, C4ADS found no deal with China Poly Group.

In addition, CCP China’s growing demand for discounted Russian oil has made it a major funder of the Kremlin, providing Moscow with a reliable source of revenue, thereby blunting the impact of Western sanctions on the Russian economy.

Four months after Moscow invaded Ukraine, CCP China has overtaken Germany as the single largest buyer of Russian energy. In May, CCP China and India together bought about 2.4 million barrels of Russian crude a day, accounting for half of Russia's total crude exports.

News (2) to (10) / Editor : Fang Xun / https://www.aboluowang.com/2022/0716/1776255.html, https://www.aboluowang.com/2022/0716/1776341.html

News (2)

U.S. Commerce Department blacklisted 5 Chinese companies

The U.S. Commerce Department put five Chinese companies on a "blacklist" late last month, alleging they were suspected of providing military-industrial support to Russia. More than 50 members of the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for China Policy (IPAC) from 25 countries have signed on, urging their governments to follow the lead of the United States in sanctioning Chinese companies. On the other hand, the CCP has always emphasized that it does not provide military assistance to Russia, but various evidences show that this may not be the case.

News (3)

IPAC members urged their own governments to impose trade sanctions on the Chinese companies for supporting the Russia military

More than 50 members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for China Policy (IPAC) from 25 countries issued a joint letter urging their own governments to follow the example of the United States and impose trade sanctions on five Chinese companies that support the Russian military.

The "Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for China Policy" is composed of more than 170 members of Congress who are concerned about China, from 18 countries and the European Parliament. The MPs who participated in the joint signing included US Congressman Mike Gallagher, Reinhard Bütikofer, head of the European Parliament delegation to China, and Iain Duncan Smith, former leader of the British Conservative Party as well as Lithuanian MP Dovilė Šakalienė, who was sanctioned by the CCP for speaking out in Xinjiang.

News (4)

Multinational lawmakers urge CCP not to weaken sanctions against Russia

Co-signers jointly sent a letter to their foreign ministers, calling on governments to establish export control and review mechanisms, targeting Chinese entities that provide assistance to the Russian military, covering countries in North America, Europe and Oceania, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, etc. 

The joint letter said, “Technology produced in our country cannot be used to assist Russia in waging a meaningless war in Ukraine. As Russia’s largest single trading partner, ensuring that Chinese companies do not weaken the impact of international sanctions on Russia, this is vital."

News (5)

Chinese companies must be held responsible for conducting business with Russia military

Reinhard Bütikofer, co-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for China Policy, criticized the CCP government for spreading disinformation for Russia on the one hand, and Chinese companies providing technology to Russia on the other, warning that companies that helped Putin's invasion of Ukraine must be held accountable. and take responsibility.

"As Russia invaded Ukraine, the 'unlimited' friendship between Moscow and Beijing continued to deepen," Bitikov said. "The CCP government continues to spread the Kremlin's lies and disinformation about Ukraine around the world, while Chinese companies continue to provide and pay the Russian military with critical technology. The companies that helped Putin in waging a senseless war against Ukraine must be named and shamed, with consequences.”

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on 28 June 2022 that it would put five Chinese-based companies on a blacklist for control. If U.S. suppliers want to export products to these five companies, they must obtain permission from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The U.S. Department of Commerce pointed out that five Chinese companies had provided projects to Russian entities that had been included in the "entity list" of the United States before Russia invaded Ukraine, and continued to formulate contracts to supply the entities included in the "entity list of Russian entities and sanctioned parties" after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Images of King-Pai Technology : Web Screenshot (Composite picture)

Five Chinese companies accused of assisting the Russian military and blacklisted by the United States, including Hong Kong-based World Jetta Logistics Limited, Sinno Electronics Co., Ltd., King-Pai Technology Co., Ltd, Winninc Electronic and Connec Electronic.

News (6)

The CCP denies military aid to Russia, customs data is suspiciously tricky

After the United States issued the ban, the CCP embassy in the United States responded by claiming that the CCP had not provided military assistance to either Russia or Ukraine, and threatened to take "necessary measures" to safeguard the rights and interests of Chinese companies.

However, Chinese customs data shows that China has increased exports of raw materials for military purposes to Russia. Chinese chip shipments to Russia more than doubled to $50 million in the first five months of 2022 from the same period last year, while exports of components such as printed circuits also recorded double-digit percentage growth. As for the export volume of alumina, it was 400 times that of the same period last year. Alumina is used to make the metal aluminum, an important material necessary for weapons production and the aerospace industry.

News (7)

Research organization named China Poly Group

The US "Wall Street Journal" quoted the "Center for Advanced Defense Research" (C4ADS), a security threat research organization based in Washington, saying that between 2014 and January 2022, they tracked down a subsidiary of China Poly Group, that exported 281 undisclosed shipments of so-called "dual-use" goods to the Russian Defense Agency.

China Poly Group is controlled by the Chinese central government and its subsidiaries include a major Chinese arms maker and exporter of small arms, missile technology and anti-drone laser technology. 

In late January, Poly Technology Group exported a batch of antenna parts to the sanctioned Russian defense company Almaz-Antey. Russian customs records show that the antenna parts are used exclusively for radar and are part of Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system, which, according to Russian media reports, has been used in the war against Ukraine. However, the Center for Advanced Defense Research said that since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, they have not found any more shipments from Poly Group to Russian defense companies.

News (8) 

News (8)

CCP fighter jet made "unsafe", "unprofessional" move against U.S. C-130 plane in June 2022

As the international situation becomes increasingly tense, the confrontation between the CCP and the United States on the South China Sea issue tends to intensify. Recently, U.S. media quoted Pentagon sources as revealing that in June 2022, a Chinese Su-30 fighter jet made an "unsafe" and "unprofessional" move against a U.S. C-130 transport plane in the South China Sea airspace, which may have been an attempt to fly in close proximity to drive U.S. military transport planes out of their original shipping lanes. It is understood that a similar incident happened in 2001, which finally triggered the collision between China and the United States in Hainan, which led to a major diplomatic disturbance.

According to the US media Politico, two people familiar with the matter revealed that a CCP Chinese fighter jet conducted an "unsafe" and "unprofessional" interactive encounter with a US special forces C-130 transport plane in the South China Sea last month. The news did not specify the specific airspace, date and process of the incident, but according to the Pentagon's previous statements, "unsafe" and "unprofessional" mostly refer to other countries' military aircraft flying close to them or trying to force them to change their routes.

News (9)

Austin condemned CCP's fighter plane move in Singapore

This incident has not been seen in the media before, but similar incidents have occurred in the South China Sea and the East China Sea in recent months, involving not only Chinese Air Force fighter jets, but also Canadian and Australian planes flying in local airspace. During his visit to Singapore last month, U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin also specifically condemned this kind of behavior, saying that the recent increase in the number of such aircraft and ships being unsafely intercepted and confronted in the sea and airspace is alarming and alarming. worry.

Austin was referring to the fact that in February this year, a Chinese navy ship personnel aimed a laser at an Australian P-8 maritime reconnaissance aircraft, and in the weeks before Austin's visit, Chinese warplanes also threatened Australian military aircraft in the East and South China Seas. intercepted, but also released foil that interfered with the radar, causing the Australian military plane to inhale the jet engine. The Canadian military similarly accused Chinese fighter jets in early June of harassing a CP-140 patrol aircraft traveling to the Korean peninsula to monitor North Korean activity.

U.S. Defense Department spokesman Martin Meiners declined to comment on the incident, but noted that U.S. aircrews often encounter safe and professional interceptions, but even if they are unsafe and unprofessional, there are established measures to deal with them. He emphasized that the United States will continue to fly and operate in accordance with international law, and expects other countries to do the same.

News (10)

CCP's dangerous interception or interference flight of U.S. military aircraft has occurred many times

In the past, the CCP’s dangerous interception or interference flight of U.S. military aircraft has occurred many times in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Among them, there was a serious collision incident on April 1, 2001, when a U.S. Navy EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft was in the South China Sea. While performing a reconnaissance mission in the sky, it was intercepted by two J-8 fighter jets of the CCP Chinese Navy Air Force. One of the J-8s was too close and crashed after colliding with an American plane 70 nautical miles (110 km) southeast of Hainan Island. Tthe pilot failed to find it after parachuting. The U.S. military plane made an emergency landing at Lingshui Airport on Hainan Island without China's permission. This incident triggered a major diplomatic crisis between CCP China and the United States, and at the same time detonated an anti-American upsurge among the Chinese people. In the end, the U.S. side expressed "regret" (translated by the Chinese side as "apology"), and the Chinese side returned the dismantled military aircraft and all the crew members. This incident later became a landmark event in Sino-US military and diplomatic interaction.