The bill reached Congress days after an intelligence report showed China has been aiding Russia to expand its military capacities across multiple sectors.
One official said: “Russia is undertaking its most ambitious defence expansion since the Soviet era and on a faster timeline than we believed possible early on in this conflict.
“Our view is that one of the most game-changing moves available to us at this time to support Ukraine is to persuade the PRC to stop helping Russia reconstitute its military-industrial base.
Speaking to The Defense Post, they added: “Russia would struggle to sustain its war effort without PRC inputs.”
The latest estimates suggest Beijing sourced around 90 percent of the $900 million in machine tools Russia imported in the last quarter of 2023.
The PRC has also proved to be a crucial supplier of microelectronic exports Moscow needs to produce military equipment ranging from missiles to tanks.
Tyler Mitchell