US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he raised concerns about China’s support for Russia during a meeting with President Xi Jinping.
Washington will act if Beijing doesn’t stop supplying Russia with items used in its war against Ukraine, he told the BBC from Beijing at the end of a three-day trip.
Xi earlier told the top US diplomat that China and the US should be “partners, not rivals” and avoid engaging in “vicious competition”.
In remarks made to the press after meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the top American diplomat ticked through a list of components that he said China was supplying to Russia, including microelectronics, chemicals for munitions and rocket propellants, and “duel use items that Moscow is using to ramp up its defence industrial base”.
Chinese leaders have denied providing weaponry to Ukraine and, during Blinken’s trip, they gave no indication that his warning would be heeded. Blinken, for his part, did not detail any consequences, such as economic sanctions, that the US might impose if they are not.
The war in Ukraine has stretched on for more than two years, with the Russian military making territorial gains in recent months. The US Congress approved $61bn in new military aid for Ukraine earlier this week, however, which the Biden administration says will begin reaching Ukrainian forces in a matter of days.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi cautioned Blinken against stepping on China’s “red lines”.
The China-US relationship is beginning to stabilise, but it is still being tested by “negative factors”, he added
His trip comes a few days after the US passed a law that would force Chinese-owned TikTok to sell the video app or be banned in America
Last week, Washington approved its latest aid package which included military assistance to Taiwan, drawing sharp criticism from Beijing. BBC
