Ukraine has accused two Chinese spying and an attempt to smuggle secret documentation about missile systems.
China said on Thursday that it is still “checking” the case of the detention of two Chinese in Ukraine for an alleged attempt to smuggle documents on the rocket technology of the Ukrainian Navy to Beijing. According to the AFP report, TASR reports this.
“If Chinese citizens have been involved, we will … protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in accordance with the law,” said Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tense relations of Kiev and Beijing
Relations between Kiev and Beijing as a key ally of Russia are tense, recalls AFP. Ukraine and the countries of the West blame China for helping Moscow in its war against Kiev through the trade and supplies of technology. Ukraine also claims that the Russian army has recruited dozens of Chinese citizens to fight on its side.
The Ukrainian secret service SBU said on Wednesday that the younger of the couple is a 24-year-old former student of the Technical University of Kiev. According to SBU, his father arrived in Ukraine to coordinate his “spy activities”. Reportedly, they “tried to illegally export the secret documentation about the Ukrainian missile system RK-360MC Neptune to China,” the secret service said.
Moscow and Beijing concluded a “borderless” partnership shortly before the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022. Since then they have deepened political, military and economic cooperation.
