Krishnamoorthi Calls on Trump Administration to Address Reports of Russian Military Support for China Ahead of Trump-Xi Meeting
WASHINGTON — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe expressing “grave concern over recent reports suggesting that Russia is providing cutting-edge military equipment and training to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that would bolster its capabilities to invade Taiwan.”
In the letter, the Ranking Member urges the Administration to “address this issue directly with General Secretary Xi Jinping [this] week when President Trump meets with him in South Korea.” Krishnamoorthi warned that “it is essential that we hold both the PRC and Russia accountable for supporting each other’s aggressive designs, whether in Ukraine or in Taiwan, and take meaningful action to deter Beijing’s escalating military threat to Taiwan and America’s other friends in the Indo-Pacific region.”
As the Krishnamoorthi notes, Russia has reportedly agreed to transfer $548 million in military equipment to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), including “special-purpose amphibious vehicles, anti-tank guns, airborne armored personnel carriers, and parachute systems designed to drop them from high altitudes.” Russian specialists will “train PLA paratroopers to use the weaponry in combat, drawing lessons from Russia’s battlefield experience in Ukraine to give Chinese airborne units the training and technical knowhow to carry out lightning-fast operations.” These measures could “boost Beijing’s capacity to seize Taiwan” and improve its “offensive options against the Philippines and other neighboring island nations.”
Krishnamoorthi emphasized that this latest agreement deepens a “steadily expanding strategic partnership between Russia and the PRC that was further cemented last month during Vladimir Putin’s summit with Xi while attending a military parade in Beijing.” At that summit, “the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation across a range of sectors, including aerospace, artificial intelligence, and energy.” Meanwhile, “Beijing continues to serve as a critical supplier of dual-use components to support the Kremlin’s war effort against Ukraine and has become a key enabler of Russian production of attack and surveillance drones.”
The Ranking Member also raised alarm about “the Administration’s apparent decision to withhold a $400 million weapons package to Taiwan, which included munitions and autonomous drones that are essential for deterring CCP aggression.” He warned that “the signal the Administration sends by withholding this support is all the more concerning given reports that Xi plans to pressure President Trump to grant major concessions on U.S. policy toward Taiwan during their meeting [later this] week. Taiwan is a vibrant democracy, economic powerhouse, and longstanding partner of the United States—not a bargaining chip. Any actions that weaken America’s relationship with Taiwan will only embolden Beijing and increase the risk of conflict.”
Krishnamoorthi concluded that “the United States must take swift and strong action in support of Taiwan and in opposition to the deepening PRC-Russia alliance that fuels conflict and aggression and directly threatens our security as well as that of our partners.”
As part of his oversight inquiry, the Ranking Member requested written answers and a staff briefing addressing the following questions:
What is the current state of military cooperation between Russia and the PRC and, if accurate, what do the recent reports of Moscow’s provision of airborne assault capabilities to Beijing suggest about the trajectory of the two nations’ military partnership? Is there evidence that Russia plans to provide the PRC with additional military capabilities or training based on lessons learned from its invasion of Ukraine that would bolster Beijing’s capabilities to attack Taiwan?
To what extent are the PRC and Russia coordinating their policies regarding Taiwan and the war in Ukraine, and how is the growing alignment between the two countries increasing the risk of conflict and escalation in Europe and the Indo-Pacific?
What additional sanctions or other measures, if any, beyond the sanctions recently targeting Rosneft and Lukoil, is the Administration considering to hold Russia and the PRC accountable for providing each other with advanced military and dual-use capabilities?
How does the Administration plan to strengthen deterrence against a potential PRC invasion of Taiwan given its improving military capabilities to carry out an invasion campaign?
The letter is available HERE.
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