The US ambassador to NATO Envoy Warns China needed to be “called out for their subsidizing” of Russia war in Ukraine as the Trump administration ratchets up its threat to impose tariffs if Moscow does not agree to a peace deal.

“China thinks they’re fighting a proxy war through Russia, and we’re seeing in some statements by the Chinese government that they want to keep the United States and our allies occupied with this war, so that we can’t focus on our other strategic challenges,” NATO ambassador Matthew Whitaker said Tuesday on Fox Business.

“China, I think, has miscalculated,” he added. “I think they need to be called out for their subsidizing this killing that is happening on the battlefields in Ukraine.”

Whitaker’s comments come a week after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tough economic penalties on Russia if it does not end its war on Ukraine within 50 days. Trump has said he would impose 100% tariffs, which officials have cast as secondary levies that would fall on countries who buy Russian exports such as oil.

NATO Envoy Warns China for Russia war

China’s imports of Russian oil have climbed since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Washington and other capitals allied with Kyiv view such oil purchases as a form of tacit support for Russia, helping to bolster its economy and undercut sanctions. Russia’s crude exports hit a one-month high ahead of Trump’s tariff threat on buyers of Russian oil.

Earlier: Russia’s Crude Shipments Rebound Ahead of Trump Sanctions Threat

“The secondary sanctions are going to be significant. They’re going to hit countries that are buying Russian oil, whether that’s China, India or Brazil,” Whitaker said.

Trump has raised the prospect of tightening economic pressure on Russia before without following through and trade analysts have said secondary tariffs would be difficult to implement.

The threat also comes at a crucial time in US-Chinese relations with a tentative trade truce between the world’s two largest economies set to end next month. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business on Tuesday that he would meet Chinese counterparts for talks next week in Stockholm.

Bessent earlier this week said that the next round of talks between the countries could include a discussion on Chinese purchases of both Russian and Iranian oil.

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