US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that China is considering giving Russia weapons and ammunition for the Ukraine war.
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What did Blinken said?
According to Mr. Blinken, Chinese businesses are already giving Russia “non-lethal support,” and fresh data indicates Beijing may even do so. This escalation would have “serious consequences” for China, he warned.
On the other hand, China has denied reports that Moscow has requested military equipment. Chinese President Xi Jinping, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has not yet denounced Russia’s invasion but has called for peace and sought to maintain neutrality. In response to American “coercion” and “finger pointing” on its relations with Russia, China’s foreign ministry declared that it would not allow it.
Further in the report, Mr. Blinken said that he met China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference. In this meeting with Mr. Wang Yi, Mr. Blinken said that he has expressed “deep concerns” about the “possibility that China will provide lethal material support to Russia.” “To date, we have seen Chinese companies… provide non-lethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine.” “The concern that we have now is based on the information we have that they’re considering providing lethal support,” he later added.
What happened next?
As a result of the US shooting down an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon in early February, relations between Washington and Beijing were already tense. Both parties exchanged heated words, but equally, both parties appeared ashamed by the encounter and appeared prepared to move on.
US Chinese Relations
US-Chinese relations will worsen much more severely if China supplies weapons and ammunition to help Russian forces in Ukraine. According to prominent Republican senator Lindsay Graham, it would be the most “catastrophic” thing that could happen to the alliance between the two Giants. “It would be like buying a ticket on the Titanic after you saw the movie,” he added. “Don’t do this.”
China’s trade with Russia has been growing, and it is one of the biggest markets for Russian oil, gas, and coal. Because of this, The US was concerned that China may aid Russia in evading Western sanctions meant to harm Russia’s economy.
Aside from other weapons, ammunition, and equipment, NATO allies, including the US, are sending tanks to Ukraine. Fighter jets haven’t been sent out, and Mr. Blinken shied away from commenting on whether the US will help other countries supply fighters. “We’ve been very clear that we shouldn’t fixate on or focus on any particular weapons system,” he said.
The top US diplomat Mr. Blinken’s remarks came ahead of a scheduled visit of Mr. Wang Yi to Moscow, as a part of the European visit for the head of Chinese foreign policy. Mr. Wang said that China had “neither stood by idly nor thrown fuel on the fire” for the Ukraine war.
According to Mr. Wang, there were “some forces that seemingly don’t want negotiations to succeed or for the war to end soon,” but he did not say who he meant. “I suggest that everybody starts to think calmly, especially our friends in Europe, about what kind of efforts we can make to stop this war,” Mr. Wang said.
Peace speech
The Chinese President, Mr. Xi, is scheduled to deliver a “peace speech” on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday, February 24, according to Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani. Along with that, As Ukraine prepares to commemorate the sombre anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion last year, the U.S. President, Mr. Joe Biden, has defied fears of Russian missile attacks to visit Kyiv to announce major new US arms shipments.
