UK presses China on weapons to Russia

LONDON — Britain’s foreign secretary urged China to investigate claims its companies supplied weapons to Russian forces in Ukraine after the U.S. slapped sanctions on a host of Chinese companies.

Lammy, on a diplomatic visit to Beijing as the new Labour government tries to smooth engagement with China, told Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the U.K. and China had a “shared interest in European peace and ending the war” in Ukraine.

He argued that Chinese supply of equipment to Russia “risks damaging China’s relationships with Europe whilst helping to sustain Russia’s war,” according to a readout from the British government.

“The Foreign Secretary urged Wang Yi to take all measures to investigate and to prevent Chinese companies from supplying Russia’s military,” the statement said.

China’s own readout, per state outlet CGTN, by contrast says only that the pair “exchanged views on international and regional matters such as the Ukraine crisis.”

The comments come just a day after the U.S. Treasury department hit two Chinese firms with sanctions, accusing Beijing of designing, producing and exporting unmanned aerial attack drones that Russia is deploying in Ukraine.

China has denied the U.S. charge, saying it has “never provided lethal weapons to any party of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine” and pointing to “strict” export controls.

Diplomatic mission

Lammy’s visit comes as the U.K. tries to ease British relations with China after a testy period under the Conservatives.

On the hot-button issue of human rights, the British government said Lammy had raised treatment of the Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang, where China stands accused of forced labor, and, by some Western politicians, of genocide.

The British statement released Friday said only that this is “an area [on] which the U.K. and China must engage, even where viewpoints diverge.”

That’s a far cry from Labour’s position in opposition. As Shadow Foreign Secretary, Lammy told POLITICO last March Labour would pursue legal routes towards declaring China’s crackdown on Uighur Muslims a “genocide” by acting “multilaterally with our partners” through international courts.

On Friday, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said a determination on genocide would be something for “competent international courts” to decide on. When pressed on Lammy’s remarks in opposition, they said they “can’t speak to comments that predate the government administration.”

“The meeting was constructive across the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, from areas of pragmatic cooperation to issues of contention,” the British foreign office said in its statement Friday, adding that the two sides agreed to maintain “channels of communication” at ministerial level.

The British government, the statement said, believes there’s room for the two countries to work together on green power and artificial intelligence.