(Bloomberg) -- Chinese and Russian companies are collaborating to produce long-range attack drones for use against Ukraine, defying warnings from Washington, according to US officials.
The Biden administration is concerned about the deepening cooperation despite China’s pledges not to provide arms for Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to three administration officials who briefed reporters Thursday on condition of anonymity.
The US levied new sanctions against two Chinese companies, one Russian company and one Russian individual for their role in the design, construction and transport to Russia of the long-range attack drones.
Previous US sanctions against more than 300 Chinese companies focused on dual-use goods that the Russian defense industrial base converts for wartime purposes, but Thursday’s actions target joint design, production and delivery of weapons, the officials said. The Russian individual owns a company already under US sanctions, the officials said, so the Chinese companies had ample warning that they were subject to penalties.
The US says China still isn’t providing direct lethal support to Russia. But NATO leaders have called China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war.
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