An Uninteresting, but Profitable Conflict: Why China Is Russia’s Informal Ally in the War Against Ukraine

China is an informal ally of Russia in the war against Ukraine, providing it with diplomatic and economic support. At the same time, Beijing has no vested interest in the outcome of the war, but is interested in its continuation.

This is reported by Newsweek .

Journalists note that after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia found itself isolated in the West, but China became its key partner.

The article notes that NATO calls China a “decisive factor” in Russia’s ability to continue the war.

Volodymyr Dubovik, a senior fellow at the Democratic Sustainability Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said that Beijing is actively promoting Kremlin narratives, particularly in developing countries.

Alessandro Arduino, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, believes that demonstrative diplomatic solidarity with Moscow, including inviting Putin to Beijing last September, is part of a broader Chinese strategy to confront the West.

He noted that in this way Beijing is signaling to the countries of the Global South about its role as an alternative center of influence.

The publication emphasizes that China does not supply Russia with finished weapons, but provides dual-use goods, as well as components and raw materials for the production of weapons.

“We have the impression that China has actually opened a “Lend-Lease” for Russian drone manufacturers, for example, for fiber-optic drones that are invulnerable to Ukrainian electronic warfare systems,” said Yuriy Poita.

According to the expert, China is interested in preserving and strengthening the offensive potential of the Russian army, as this allows Russia to concentrate NATO forces on itself.

At the same time, experts believe that the scale and duration of the war came as a surprise to the Chinese leadership.

“He probably saw that Putin was going to do it anyway, and that it was a priority for him, so he didn’t try to stop. And maybe he wouldn’t have been able to do it,” said Volodymyr Dubovik.

Recall that Russia has tripled the production of ballistic missiles for the Iskander-M operational-tactical complexes thanks to the supply of components from China . This allowed Moscow to resume and scale up military production despite Western sanctions.

By the way, China is sending Russia the equipment needed to create the Oreshnik hypersonic missile , capable of carrying nuclear warheads. This weapon is used by Vladimir Putin to threaten the West.

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