During a visit to Berlin, the chief of the Western military alliance said China’s help was vital to the Kremlin’s war effort, as the Asian country was propping up Russia’s war economy by sharing high-end technology like semiconductors.

“Last year, Russia imported 90% of its microelectronics from China, used to produce missiles, tanks, and aircraft. China is also working to provide Russia with improved satellite capabilities and imaging,” Stoltenberg said on Thursday.

“China says it wants good relations with the West. At the same time, Beijing continues to fuel the largest armed conflict in Europe since WWII. They cannot have it both ways,” he warned.

Stoltenberg cautioned Western allies against becoming as dependent on China as they had been on Russia.

“In the past, we made the mistake of becoming dependent on Russian oil and gas,” he said.

“We must not repeat that mistake with China. Depending on its money, its raw materials, its technologies, dependencies make us vulnerable.”

In recent years, China has strengthened trade and military ties with Russia as the United States and its allies imposed sanctions on both, particularly Moscow, for the invasion of Ukraine.

China-Russian trade hit a record of $240.1 billion in 2023, up 26.3% from a year earlier, Chinese customs data shows. Chinese shipments to Russia jumped 46.9% in 2023 while imports from Russia rose 13%.

Last month, media reports stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to travel to China in May for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in what could be the first overseas trip of his new presidential term.