Beijing rejects Zelensky’s claim of Chinese weapons supplies to Russia as ‘baseless political manipulation’

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told journalists on Friday that there are no grounds to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that Beijing is supplying weapons to Moscow. “China has never provided lethal weapons to either party in the conflict and has always strictly controlled the export of dual-use goods. […] China firmly opposes groundless accusations and political manipulations,” Lin Jian said.

A day earlier, Zelensky claimed that Ukraine’s intelligence community has collected evidence that China is supplying weapons to the Russian army. He promised to provide more details next week.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Beijing has maintained an official position of neutrality and called on both sides to pursue negotiations.