US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi,for an "intense" seven-hour conversation on Monday to discuss reports that Russia has asked Beijing for arms to support its invasion of Ukraine, US officials said.
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Tough economic sanctions against Beijing appeared unlikely, however, as China is the biggest exporter in the world, the European Union's largest trading partner and the foremost supplier of goods to the United States "largest trading partner".

Chinese graphite dominance threatens electric car ambitions, 14 Mar 2022
... The rolling power blackouts as well as the suspension of graphite production in winter [PANDEMIC!] further squeezed global graphite supply, already struggling to keep up with strong demand for lithium-ion batteries as global electric vehicle TSLA sales went through the roof.
... As a result, the mineral, which has often been overlooked when it comes to battery materials, has added to the troubles of battery and car manufacturers, who have been scouring the planet to secure supplies of other battery constituents like ["blood"] lithium, nickel and cobalt [from DCR]. ...

For their part, Chinese officials dismissed the reports in the Financial Times ["lie factory"] that Russia has requested weapons as "disinformation."