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When Russian missiles and kamikaze drones rain down on Ukrainian cities, the world rightly points the finger at Vladimir Putin. But examine the wreckage, and the truth is undeniable: the guts of those weapons are stamped “Made in China.” Over 90% of the critical technology, microchips, and precursor chemicals fueling Russia’s defense industry are manufactured in Chinese factories. At the same time, Beijing serves as Moscow’s financial lifeline, guzzling Russian crude oil by the tanker-load and injecting tens of billions of dollars directly into the Kremlin’s treasury. Russia is pulling the trigger, but China is forging the bullets and filling the war chest.
In an overwhelming demonstration of bipartisan resolve in Washington, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act was signed into law last week, arming the administration to bring decisive economic pressure against the war’s chief financiers and facilitators. With Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting the White House this week, President Trump should make clear his intention to honor Senator Graham’s legacy by vigorously implementing the bill — with an unblinking focus on Beijing.
For more than four years, the free world has watched the Kremlin escalate its brutal war of conquest. In the first half of 2026 alone, civilian casualties climbed 114% over 2024 levels, punctuated this summer by devastating strikes on apartment buildings, passenger trains, and hospital first responders. But Russia cannot sustain this level of violence on its own. It is kept afloat — militarily and financially — by the deliberate backing of the People’s Republic of China.
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The data behind China’s underwriting is staggering. Beijing supplies over 90% of the dual-use tools and components Russia requires to manufacture artillery shells, glide bombs, and attack drones. Financially, Beijing has chosen to serve as the Kremlin’s chief banker. In August 2026 alone, China was the world’s largest purchaser of Russian fossil fuels — accounting for over half of all revenues from Russia’s top buyers and injecting over $9 billion into Moscow’s coffers in a single thirty-day window. China’s seaborne crude imports surged over 60% compared to last summer, much of it ferried by an illicit shadow fleet that flouts international maritime standards.
Beijing cannot claim to be a neutral arbiter of peace while functioning as the quartermaster and cash register for Vladimir Putin’s war.
The recently enacted sanctions package directly addresses this hypocrisy. It equips the United States to penalize major purchasers of Russian energy, shut down financial intermediaries laundering illicit transactions, and sever the $100 billion shadow-fleet lifeline keeping the Russian war economy solvent.
Skeptics may claim that economic pressure will not move Beijing, but the record proves otherwise. When Washington backs rhetoric with credible secondary sanctions, Chinese behavior shifts. Major Chinese state-owned commercial banks repeatedly froze payment processing for Russian transactions out of self-preservation, terrified of exclusion from the U.S. dollar clearing system. Beijing talks defiance, but its commercial leaders understand that preserving access to Western capital and markets far outweighs the benefits of propping up an isolated pariah state.
The Ukrainians understand this well. During our travels to Ukraine this year, the consistent plea we heard from officials on the ground was to secure these sanctions into law. Republicans and Democrats came together across chambers to move this legislation, and President Trump rightly signed it last week. Now its tools need to be harnessed to help end this brutal war.
We recognize the delicate terrain confronting the White House. Beijing has weaponized its near monopoly on critical minerals, tightening export restrictions on rare earths and magnets to threaten American industries. Some in the administration may counsel caution, fearing Chinese retaliation. But backing down guarantees Beijing will continue holding our supply chains hostage while arming our adversaries.
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Enduring, historic peace will not come by letting Xi Jinping dictate the terms of global security through economic blackmail. By wielding the full leverage of this law, the president can compel Beijing to choose between its economic standing in the West and its partnership with Moscow.
The Indo-Pacific and European theaters are not separate arenas. Our adversaries view them as one. In our travels across Asia and Europe, our partners have made clear that unchecked aggression in Ukraine invites miscalculation in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. On September 24th, President Trump must deliver an unmistakable message: China’s material pipeline and oil purchases can no longer continue without severe costs under American law.
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Authoritarian leaders in Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang are coordinating to test American resolve. Peace will not be achieved through wishful thinking. It will be secured when the price of enabling aggression becomes too high for Beijing to pay.
John Curtis is a Republican senator from Utah. He formerly represented Utah’s 3rd Congressional District and was mayor of Provo from 2010 to 2017.
