Updated to add United States reaction.Beijing is sending or preparing to send lethal aid to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine, British Defense Secretary Grant Shappssaid Wednesday, a claim that comes just days after President Vladimir Putin visited China to meet with his counterpart Xi Jinping.Today I can reveal that we have evidence that Russia and China are collaborating on combat equipment for use in Ukraine, Shapps told a defense conference in London.Headdedthat United States and British intelligence services believe lethal aid is now, or will be, flowing from China to Russia and into Ukraine, as quoted by Reuters.I think it is a significant development, Shapps said without providing evidence of the assertion other than the 64% growth in Russian-Chinese trade since the war broke out more than two years ago.But the United States later questioned Shapps assertion, withWhite House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan saying that Washington had not seen intelligence showing the direct supply of combat equipment.We have not seen that to date.
I look forward to speaking with the U.K.
to make sure that we have a common operating picture, Sullivan said.Beijing has not condemnedRussias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, instead positioning itself as a neutral party in the conflict and offering its own peace plan, which was largely dismissed by Kyiv and Western governments.Last week, Putin made an official visit to China, where he and Xi pledged a new era of a strategic partnership and denounced the hegemonic United States for extremely destabilizing steps, which pose a direct threat to the security of Russia and China.United States President Joe Biden has previously raised the issue of China backing Russias war effort in a phone call with Xi, Reutersreportedlast month, citing senior anonymous United States officials.Beijing is thought to have already provided drone and missile technology, satellite imagery and machine tools to fill critical gaps in Russias defense production cycle, according to that report.Chinese-supplied goods are believed to be helping Moscow in its most ambitious defense expansion since the Soviet era, which turned out to be on a faster timeline than we believed possible early on in this conflict, the United States official was quoted as saying.There was no immediate comment fromChinas embassy in London in response to Shapps claims on Wednesday.