China balances EU strategic partnership with Russian military support

China is maintaining a complex dual-track approach toward Europe and Russia. While Beijing officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, have emphasized that China and the European Union are strategic partners who should avoid trade wars, evidence suggests continued support for Moscow’s military efforts.

Reports from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) indicate that the Chinese state-owned Jilin Chemical Fiber Group supplied 46 tons of carbon fiber chemicals to Alabuga-Volokno, a sanctioned Russian company. This supply could potentially facilitate the production of up to 1,300 kamikaze drones.

In the context of broader geopolitical shifts, Poland remains a partner in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a status established through a strategic partnership signed a decade ago. However, the European Union has shifted toward a policy of de-risking to reduce economic dependence on China in strategic sectors. To counter Beijing’s influence, the EU has introduced the Global Gateway strategy as an alternative infrastructure investment program.