China Is Biting at the Edges. Europe Can’t Afford to Blink.

Beijing isn’t backing Putin out of loyalty — it’s doing it to survive. And unless Europe, Canada, and India act fast, the cost will be generational.

This is not the first time. It won’t be the last time either.

China is once again testing the perimeter of the Western democratic order — this time by extending subtle yet strategic support to Putin’s war against Ukraine. “Chinese Mavic is open for Russians but is closed for Ukrainians,” President Zelenskyy told reporters on Tuesday, referencing DJI’s widely used Mavic drones, which have become a crucial component of modern battlefield operations. A senior European official later confirmed that this aligns with internal intelligence assessments: China has quietly restricted exports of key components — like drone motor magnets — to Western countries, while simultaneously increasing shipments to Russia.

Beijing, as expected, has denied any wrongdoing. It insists that it strictly regulates dual-use technologies and, in its words, “firmly opposes baseless accusations.” But this kind of calibrated denial has become routine. When Ukraine provided evidence of Chinese nationals recruited by the Russian military and found fighting on the front lines, China…