US state China "picked side" and is no longer neutral in Russia's war against Ukraine

US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith has said that China is helping Russia achieve its military goals in Ukraine by continuing to sell goods such as drone technology or gunpowder components.

Smith said in an interview with Politico that China was "picking a side" and could no longer claim to be neutral in Russia's war against Ukraine.

"The PRC [People's Republic of China] cannot claim to be entirely neutral in this case, [and] they are in fact picking a side. I think when the PRC tries to portray itself as neutral, when it comes to this war, we don't buy it," she said.  

Smith noted that the US was "increasingly seeing materiel support" to Russia from China and added that these dual-use goods played a crucial role in helping Moscow achieve some of its goals against Ukraine.

"If they were not providing some of these components, or this materiel support, Russia would be in a very different situation and would have trouble pursuing some of these acts of aggression," she added. 

Smith said that China is providing Russia with "machine tools, microelectronics, UAV technologies and nitrocellulose that is used as a propellant."

She added that there was no proof at the moment that China was providing "lethal support" to Russia, but it provided goods that were used for both military and civilian purposes, and this helped Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Earlier, Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, criticised China for supporting Russia's defence industry, saying that Beijing is currently the main supplier of critical components for the war of aggression that Russia is waging against Ukraine.

Before that, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the US had warned China of the consequences of its banks and companies helping Russia in the war against Ukraine, and was ready to respond to the sharp rise in cheap exports from China.

At the same time, the United States saw no evidence that China was providing Russia with direct military support.