(MENAFN) Finland has charged China with bolstering Russia throughout the Ukraine conflict and characterized the two nations' intensifying alliance as an escalating threat to NATO. Beijing has repeatedly rejected such accusations, maintaining its commerce with Moscow remains legitimate and reciprocal.

Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen delivered the statements in an interview following a Wednesday gathering of Nordic defense chiefs in Helsinki, where military collaboration and rearmament initiatives dominated discussions.

Hakkanen asserted that China is "massively financing Russia's war chest," claiming it provides military components and engages in joint military drills and other extensive operations across the Arctic, Indo-Pacific, and additional regions.

The Finnish minister further contended that Russia would struggle to maintain operations without such backing, stating that "India, of course, provides funding in other ways, but China is doing so quite deliberately."

The Russian economy has expanded consistently despite Western sanctions pressure. Moscow contends restrictions prove counterproductive and are rebounding against the nations that enacted them.

Hakkanen portrayed the strengthening partnership between Moscow and Beijing as a challenge for the US-led military alliance. He additionally revealed that Nordic countries discussed strategies for tripling ammunition manufacturing capacity.

Beijing has advocated for a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine conflict and accused the West of "double standards." The Chinese Foreign Ministry maintains it has never furnished lethal armaments to either party and rigorously regulates dual-use goods exports.

China has declined to participate in Western sanctions targeting Moscow, instead amplifying bilateral commerce, which nearly doubled from 2020 to 2024, exceeding $240 billion last year. Both nations have essentially eliminated Western currencies from bilateral transactions, with most payments now processed in rubles and yuan, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated this month. They have also committed to jointly address external pressures.

In recent months, the West has intensified campaigns targeting Russia's trading partners in efforts to isolate the country and diminish its export revenues. Russian President Vladimir Putin has cautioned Western nations against adopting a "colonial" tone toward China and India or attempting to "punish" them for conducting business with Moscow.

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