The European Union (EU) has officially confirmed allegations that the Chinese military has been training Russian soldiers for deployment in the Ukraine conflict, intensifying EU pressure on China regarding the war.
On June 15, following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated, "Reports that the Chinese military has been training Russian soldiers to be deployed in Ukraine have been confirmed as true," adding that the EU is carefully assessing the implications of this development. However, Borrell did not disclose specific details or sources.
Earlier, Reuters reported, citing European intelligence sources, that the Chinese military secretly trained about 200 Russian soldiers in China at the end of last year, some of whom later returned to the battlefield in Ukraine. This training reportedly focused on drone operations and was conducted under an agreement signed by senior military officials from Russia and China in July of the previous year in Beijing.
China has maintained a neutral stance regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with its foreign ministry previously denying allegations that it is attempting to shift the blame for the war onto China.
However, both the EU and the United States believe that China has been providing Russia with economic support and dual-use technologies that could be utilized for military purposes, including drone components. Chinese companies are already subject to sanctions from the U.S. and EU.
On the same day, the EU added two mainland Chinese manufacturers and two Hong Kong shipping companies to its sanctions list. Shenzhen Minghuaxin and Xinxiang Richful Lubricant Additive Company are accused of supplying drone parts and chemical additives for lubricants to the Russian military. Hong Kong shipping firms Glory Shipping HK Limited and Nord Axis are implicated in supporting the export of Russian crude oil.
Allegations of China's support for Russia have been a significant factor in deteriorating EU-China relations since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Coupled with China's large trade surplus and issues of industrial overproduction, there are growing calls within Brussels to consider additional restrictions on China.
EU leaders are set to discuss China's industrial overproduction issues on June 18. Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU's trade commissioner, is also expected to meet with Wang Wentao, China's Minister of Commerce, in Brussels later this month to address trade imbalances and strategies for responding to China.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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