• China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, rebuts NATO’s accusations of assisting Russia in the Ukraine war.
• Western states accuse China of providing large-scale support for Russia’s defense industrial base.
• China has long rebutted accusations of aiding Russia in the war, insisting on its neutrality.

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has rebutted NATO’s “groundless accusations” that Beijing is assisting Russia in its war on Ukraine. He also warned the Western alliance against provoking confrontation. Mr. Wang made these comments during a call with his Dutch counterpart, just hours after leaders of NATO member states gathered in Washington DC and issued a declaration mentioning the war.

They accused China of being a “decisive enabler” of Russia by providing “large-scale support for Russia’s defense industrial base.” In some of their harshest remarks yet about Beijing, they urged China to stop “all material and political support” for Russia’s war effort, including the supply of dual-use materials, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes.

Western states previously accused Beijing of transferring drone and missile technology and satellite imagery to Moscow. According to the US, China now supplies approximately 70% of the machine tools and 90% of the microelectronics imported by Russia.

Beijing faced accusations of conducting “malicious cyber and hybrid activities, including disinformation,” against NATO states. During a press conference on Thursday, US President Joe Biden stated that he had discussed with other leaders about outlining the consequences for China.

“China has to understand that if they are supplying Russia with information and capacity, working with North Korea and others to help Russia and [their] armament, that they’re not going to benefit economically as a consequence of that,” he said.

“I think you’ll see that some of our European friends are going to be curtailing their investment in China.”

He pointed out that Russia had been seeking weapons from China and North Korea. He added that NATO states were exploring a new policy to transform the West into an “industrial base” for munitions and to develop new weapons systems.

On Thursday, while speaking to the Netherlands’ new foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp, Mr. Wang stated that “China does not accept” all these accusations and insisted that China “has always been a force for peace and stability”.

In comments carried by state media, he said that China’s different political system and values “should not be used as a reason for Nato to incite confrontation with China”, and called for Nato to “stay within its bounds”.

His remarks was the latest in a flurry of angry responses from Beijing.

Earlier on Thursday, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Nato was smearing China with “fabricated disinformation”, while Beijing’s mission to the EU told the alliance to “stop hyping up the so-called China threat”.

Beijing has long rebutted accusations of aiding Russia in the war, insisting on its neutrality. It has called for an end to the conflict and proposed a peace plan, which Ukraine rejected. However, besides the increasing accusations of military support, observers have also noted that Beijing’s purchases of vast amounts of oil and gas have helped sustain Russia’s economy, which has been crippled by sanctions and depleted by war spending.

Beijing’s official rhetoric on the conflict often mirrors Moscow’s; like Moscow, China still avoids calling it a war. Chinese President Xi Jinping has maintained a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, famously declaring their partnership has “no limits”.

China has accused the US and other Western states of exacerbating the conflict by supplying lethal weapons and technology to Ukraine for its defense. In recent weeks, several countries have taken a further step and permitted Ukraine to use their weapons to strike targets inside Russia.

During NATO’s three-day summit, which concluded on Thursday, the alliance reiterated its commitment to Ukraine. Member states pledged to support Ukraine on its “irreversible path” to future membership, affirming that “Ukraine’s future is in Nato”.

They also announced plans for deeper integration with Ukraine’s military and confirmed support for its defense. The alliance has committed to providing at least €40 billion ($43.3 billion, £33.7 billion) in aid over the next year, including F-16 fighter jets and air defense assistance.

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