Kathrine Frich
Military analysts believe Beijing has a cynical motive for working with Moscow.
Global superpowers often form alliances behind closed doors to strengthen their geopolitical standing.
When these secretive agreements leak to the public, they can trigger massive international backlash.
European leaders are now scrambling to respond to shocking new allegations of military cooperation.
Secret military training
The German newspaper Die Welt recently reported that the Chinese military secretly trained roughly 200 Russian soldiers. Some of those troops were subsequently deployed to the front lines in Ukraine.
The secret training project reportedly took place last November inside China. According to Reuters cited by WP, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov personally approved the joint military initiative last summer.
Leaked official documents indicate that at least four generals from both nations participated in organizing the operation, Die Welt explained.
Beijing denies cooperation
The Chinese government pushed back hard against the allegations. The Chinese Foreign Ministry quickly dismissed the media reports, according to Reuters.
The ministry stated that the explosive claims are “completely groundless” while reaffirming its neutral stance on the conflict.
Despite the denials, the news caused a massive diplomatic rift in Europe. The German Foreign Ministry officially summoned the Chinese ambassador to Berlin to demand answers.
German officials released a statement calling the reports “deeply disturbing” and warned that supporting Russia poses a direct threat to European security, Die Welt reported.
Exploiting for experience
Military analysts believe Beijing has a cynical motive for working with Moscow. China expert Krzysztof Karwowski told the publication Fakt that China is using Russia to gain combat experience.
“For China, the Ukraine issue is a secondary issue. They see opportunities to acquire knowledge they lack,” Karwowski explained.
The expert noted that while China possesses advanced technology, its military completely lacks recent real-world battlefield experience.
“They hope that by sharing their experience with the Russians in the form of access to their own modern technology, they will gain knowledge from them on how to use it,” Karwowski told Fakt.
Sources: Die Welt, Reuters, Fakt, WP
