President Donald Trump’s war against Iran has weakened the United States militarily and strategically, leaving China in a stronger position globally. Beijing has simultaneously reinforced its influence while discreetly supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine and the West.

 American missile and weapon stock depletion, worsened by the Iran conflict, has created vulnerabilities that both China and Russia are exploiting in their respective calculations against Taiwan and Ukraine.

Dr Malcolm Davis of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute warned that this crisis in US military capability is immediate, not distant. China’s support for Russia has been subtle compared to North Korea’s overt actions, yet it remains decisive.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described China as a “decisive enabler of Russia’s war.” Beijing’s proclaimed neutrality has been a fiction, as it has consistently echoed Moscow’s narrative and even mandated its teaching in schools and universities.

China’s selective criticism is telling. It condemned US strikes on Iran but has only warned Russia against nuclear use in Ukraine. Garry Kasparov noted that China aids Russia without suffering consequences.

Sanctions on some Chinese firms have had little political impact. Instead, China supplies electronics, semiconductors and machinery to Russia, while absorbing combat lessons from Moscow for its own designs on Taiwan.

Evidence of Chinese support dates back years. Reports from 2023 showed Chinese defence companies providing navigation equipment, drones, jamming technology and jet-fighter parts to Russia. Dual-use items were routed through Turkey and the UAE.

China’s share of Russian dual-use imports rose from 30% to 66% between 2021 and 2023, and by 2025, EU envoy David O’Sullivan estimated China supplied 80% of components used in Russian weapons. Bloomberg reported in April 2026 that over 90% of Russia’s sanctioned technology imports came via China.

At the UN in April 2026, China’s deputy representative Sun Lei deflected blame onto the US, accusing Washington of prolonging the conflict. Meanwhile, Chinese banks and corporations expanded into occupied Ukrainian territories, monopolising manufacturing and integrating equipment into infrastructure. In January 2026,

The Telegraph revealed China had provided Russia with $10.3 billion in technology, including specialised machines for hypersonic missile warheads. Beijing denied fuelling the war.

China abstained from a UN vote in December 2025 demanding Russia return deported Ukrainian children, claiming humanitarian issues should not be politicised. G7 ministers condemned China’s provision of dual-use components, but Beijing denied supplying lethal arms.

Ukraine’s intelligence service in October 2025 recorded evidence of China providing satellite data for Russian strikes. Two Chinese nationals were arrested for spying on Ukraine’s Neptune missile program. Zelenskyy declared at the UN that “without China, Putin’s Russia is nothing.”

Reuters reported Russian soldiers trained in China in late 2025, including chemical and radiological protection courses. Beijing denied this, but the cooperation underscored strategic alignment. Investigations by The Insider, Der Spiegel and Le Monde revealed plans for China to provide AI and industrial capacity for Russian drone swarms, in exchange for battlefield data.

They also uncovered joint efforts to undermine Starlink and discussions on integrated missile defence systems potentially operational by 2030.

China and Russia have held secretive military technology forums annually, aiming to erode US superiority. Yet China has also hacked Russian agencies to steal information. The overall picture is of China stealthily backing Russia while learning from Ukraine’s battlefield. Xi and Putin’s relationship, described as having “no limits,” has seen over 40 meetings.

Economically, China dominates the partnership, with Russia accounting for only 4% of Chinese trade. Moscow repays Beijing’s support by backing its claims over Taiwan.

China’s denials of partiality ring hollow. Tong Zhao of Carnegie China explained that authoritarian elites believe themselves morally righteous and invest heavily in shaping global narratives. On Taiwan, Beijing sees military takeover as an internal matter, emboldened by perceived Western acceptance of US actions.

China spends heavily on influence campaigns abroad, including $100 million in the US in 2025, with $66.8 million funnelled to CGTN America. Tencent alone spent over $10 million lobbying. Trump accused China of spending $16 billion annually on intelligence and influence operations in the US.

Evelyn Yeh of the European Council on Foreign Relations warned that Russia-China alignment threatens the international order. Beijing is watching Ukraine to gauge Western resolve and calibrate ambitions for Taiwan.

Europe must act to counter this strategic exchange, which fuels Russia’s war machine and risks future aggression. Ultimately, China is funding and fuelling Russia’s war against Ukraine, and it is doing so with impunity.

ANI