Ukraine is vital to U.S. national security. Nolan Peterson writes:
China has been steadily increasing its economic clout in Ukraine through a broad gamut of infrastructure investments and other economic initiatives. This year, China overtook Russia as Ukraine’s top trading partner, underscoring a landmark shift in economic ties between Kyiv and Moscow.
Ostensibly, China is grooming Ukraine to become a key node in Beijing’s One Belt, One Road trade route across Asia to Europe. China also has its eyes on Ukraine’s military hardware and agricultural exports.
Ukraine has replaced the U.S. as China’s top supplier of corn. And China is now the top purchaser of Ukrainian military arms, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Institute, a research body that maintains a yearly assessment of the global military arms industry.
[Nolan Peterson, “China Poised to Benefit If Ukraine’s Western Relationships Fray,” The Daily Signal, November 12]
