Trade between China and Russia "directly affecting" EU security, - Dutch Foreign Minister Veldkamp
NATO views China as a "decisive enabler" of Russia in its war against Ukraine.
According to Censor.NET, citing Reuters, this was stated by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp.
He emphasized that Chinese companies sell goods to Russia that are then used as components of Russian weapons, including drones.
"I have raised this issue twice in conversations with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and I think that as Europeans we all have to do this because China needs to realize that this has a direct impact on European security," Veldkamp said.
He reminded that the Netherlands, in cooperation with the United States, has already introduced a number of export restrictions that are gradually being tightened. They do not allow ASML, a Dutch company that is the largest manufacturer of lithography equipment for the microelectronics industry, which is necessary, in particular, for the manufacture of ICs, memory chips, flash memory, microprocessors," to supply its most advanced technologies to Chinese chipmakers.
However, despite the restrictions, China has remained the largest market for ASML and other leading US and Japanese equipment manufacturers over the past year and a half, as Chinese companies expand their capacity to produce older chips that are not subject to the restrictions but are still suitable for many military applications. ASML's sales of tools to Chinese firms reached a record 2.79 billion euros in the third quarter, although the company predicts a decline in 2025.
Veldkamp said that on Monday he will discuss with the foreign ministers of other EU countries what to do with China's support for Russia.
"We are discussing everything related to foreign assistance to Russia in its war in Ukraine, whether it is Iran, North Korea or China," he said.
As a reminder, the European Union is considering imposing sanctions on China because Beijing has supplied weapons to Russia for the first time for use in the war against Ukraine.
