According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, China is thinking about sending Russia ammunition and weaponry for the conflict in Ukraine.
According to Mr. Blinken, who spoke to CBS News, Chinese businesses are already giving Russia “non-lethal support,” and new data indicates Beijing might do the same for Moscow.
He cautioned that any uptick in tensions would have “severe ramifications” for China.
Reportedly, Russia has asked China for military hardware, but China has denied this.
Although he has yet to denounce Russia’s invasion, Chinese President Xi Jinping, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has appealed for peace and sought to maintain neutrality in the war.
In response to American “coercion” and “finger pointing” on its relations with Russia, China’s foreign ministry declared that it would not allow it.
After meeting Wang Yi, China’s senior diplomat, at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Mr. Blinken spoke with CBS.
According to him, he raised “grave concerns” during the discussion regarding the “possibility that China will send lethal material support to Russia.”
“China firms have so far assisted Russia in Ukraine without using lethal force, as we’ve witnessed. Based on evidence we currently possess that they are thinking about offering lethal help, our current fear is that “he said
He made no more mention of the specific details of the US’s information regarding China’s probable plans. In response to a question about what the US thought China may deliver to Russia, he replied it would be mostly weapons and ammunition.
The Wagner Group, a mercenary organization that provides Russia with thousands of fighters, is said to have received satellite imagery of Ukraine from the Chinese corporation that the US has sanctioned.
According to Mr. Blinken, “there’s really no difference between the state and private firms in China, of course.”
What kind of assistance does China give Russia?
What armaments is Ukraine receiving?
The Wagner Group of Russian mercenaries is what?
It would be a “major problem for us and in our relationship” if China gave Russia access to weapons, the speaker continued.
Following the US’s purported downing of a Chinese spy balloon in early February, ties between Washington and Beijing were already strained. Even though the two sides argued, they both seemed ready to move on and appeared humiliated by the encounter.
Yet, US-Chinese relations would deteriorate considerably more quickly if China were to supply weapons to support Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
It is obvious that Mr. Blinken’s warning is intended to stop China from taking that action.
Additionally, according to Mr. Blinken, the US was concerned that China might be assisting Russia in evading Western sanctions meant to harm Russia’s economy. One of the main markets for Russian oil, gas, and coal is China, where bilateral commerce has been increasing.
Ukraine is receiving a range of weapons, ammunition, and equipment, including tanks, from NATO members, including the US. They have refrained from supplying fighter jets, and Mr. Blinken declined to comment when asked if the US would assist in the supply of fighters for other nations.
“We have been very clear that we should not fixate or focus on any one weapons system,” he said.
But, he did state that the West needed to make sure Ukraine had the resources it would need for a future counteroffensive against Russia “in the months ahead”. Eastern Ukraine is where some of the war’s toughest combat has been occurring, and Russia is currently attempting to move there.
In advance of Mr. Wang’s planned trip to Moscow as part of China’s foreign policy chief’s tour of Europe, the top American diplomat made these statements.
Wang claimed, according to Reuters, that China has “neither stood by quietly nor added fuel to the fire” for the Ukrainian war in Munich on Saturday.
According to Mr. Wang, China would release a document outlining its stance on resolving the problem. He predicted that the text will indicate that every nation’s territorial integrity must be respected.
Everyone should begin to calmly consider what measures we might put out to halt this war, Mr. Wang urged, especially our friends in Europe.
He continued by saying that “certain forces” appeared to oppose successful negotiations or a speedy conclusion to the war, but he did not identify them.
According to Antonio Tajani, the foreign minister of Italy, on Friday, February 24, the Chinese President, Mr. Xi, is due to give a “peace speech” on the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to Reuters, Mr. Tajani predicted that Mr. Xi would appeal for peace in his speech without denouncing Russia on Italian radio.
When Mr. Blinken and Mr. Wang met, they also had a heated discussion about the ongoing dispute over the allegedly Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down over the US.
During the discussion, Mr. Blinken declared that the United States would not “stand for any breach of our sovereignty” and that “this irresponsible behavior must never again occur.”
In an interview with CBS, Mr. Blinken said that other countries were worried about what he dubbed China’s “surveillance balloon program” across five continents.
As this was happening, Mr. Wang referred to the incident as a “political farce produced by the US” and accused them of “using every means to hinder and suppress China.” China has refuted the sending of a spy balloon.
Then early on Sunday morning, Beijing issued a warning, saying that if the US exacerbated the dispute over the balloon, it would “carry all the repercussions.” China declared in a statement from its foreign ministry, as cited by Reuters, that it will “follow through to the conclusion” if “the US persisted on exploiting the matter.”
