US warns China not to provide weapons to Russia
Blinken: ‘We have information that gives us concern ... they are considering providing lethal support to Russia’
The United States has warned China not to provide Russia with lethal weapons for use in the Ukraine war as China’s top diplomat Wang Yi prepares to visit Moscow
Wang met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, an annual summit of 70 nations where Western support for Ukraine was the main topic of conversation.
It was the first face-to-face meeting of high-level US and Chinese officials since the spy balloon incident escalated tensions between the two superpowers and forced Blinken to cancel plans to visit Beijing. Wang is the director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and is seen as close to China President Xi Jinping.
Speaking in Budapest on Monday, Wang called for peace negotiations and a halt to hostilities in Ukraine. "We would like a political solution to provide a peaceful and sustainable framework to Europe," Wang said.
Biden visits Kyiv
The diplomatic dialogue between the US and China came as President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday to demonstrate his resolve in supporting Ukraine against Russia’s aggression.
Standing with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Biden said the US would back Ukraine “as long as it takes” to defend itself against “a brutal and unjust war”.
“One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you,” Biden declared, jabbing his finger against a podium for emphasis, according to the Associated Press.
The US has provided Ukraine with more than $30 billion in military and security assistance since the war began on February 24, 2022 and Biden announced another $450 million in aid after meeting Zelenskyy at Mariinsky Palace.
The new security package includes ammunition for US-provided HIMARS missile launcher and Howitzer artillery as well as more Javelins anti-tank missiles, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars.
Air raid sirens blared as Biden walked the streets with Zelenskyy amid an intense security lockdown in the city. Biden traveled to Kyiv by train from Poland for the unannounced visit. The US had notified Moscow of the president’s travel in advance to avoid potential conflict, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.
Wang to visit Moscow
In Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wang would be discussing China’s ideas for peace negotiations with Russian officials in Moscow and presenting a plan for bringing the war to an end.
“The one-year mark of the Ukraine crisis is just days away. China will release a position document on seeking political settlement of the Ukraine crisis,” China Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing in Beijing on Monday.
“The document will reaffirm President Xi Jinping’s important propositions, including respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, taking seriously the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and supporting all efforts conducive to a peaceful resolution of the crisis,” Wang said.
Blinken’s warning
China is “trying to have it both ways” by publicly calling for peace talks while providing support to Moscow behind the scenes, Secretary of State Blinken said on Sunday making the rounds of US television news talk shows.
“We’ve been watching this very, very closely,” Blinken told ABC’s Martha Raddatz in an interview in Munich.
“For the most part, China has been engaged in providing rhetorical, political, diplomatic support to Russia, but we have information that gives us concern that they are considering providing lethal support to Russia in the war against Ukraine,” Blinken said. “It was important for me to share very clearly with Wang Yi that this would be a serious problem.”
At the end of January, the US Treasury Department cited China’s Spacety company for providing satellite images to a Russian firm, Terra Tech, for use by Wagner Group mercenaries in Ukraine.
Chinese state-owned companies have been transporting navigation equipment, jamming technology, and aircraft parts to Russia’s defense sector, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal and customs data surveyed by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, a non-profit research organization based in Washington, DC.
Beijing’s narrative
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang rejected Blinken’s warning.
“It is the US, not China, that has been pouring weapons into the battlefield,” spokesman Wang said. “The US is in no position to tell China what to do. We would never stand for finger-pointing, or even coercion and pressurizing from the US on our relations with Russia.”
Chinese state media have presented NATO’s eastward expansion as the underlying cause of what Chinese officials call “the Ukraine crisis”. In a short video posted on Xinhua recently, global increases in energy costs and food shortages were blamed on the US’s provision of heavier, more advanced weapons to Ukraine. The US is positioned as the “manipulator” behind the conflict and Ukraine’s refusal to reach a diplomatic agreement with Russia. No mention is made of Russia’s invasion or targeting of civilians.
Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a long-time Putin ally, said in a national speech on Saturday that the European Union had inflamed the war by providing Ukraine weapons and sanctioning Russia.
“When Russia launched its attack, the West didn’t isolate the conflict but elevated it to a pan-European level,” Orbán said. “The war in Ukraine is not a conflict between the armies of good and evil, but between two Slavic countries that are fighting against one another. This is their war, not ours.”
China Invests in Hungary
On Sunday, State Councilor Wang attended a private dinner with Prime Minister Orbán whose government has maintained a “China-friendly policy”. On Monday, Wang met with Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó.
Hungary is a participant in China’s Belt-and-Road investment initiative and received financing for a Chinese-built rail line to Serbia. Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology has announced plans to build a $7.5 billion factory in Hungary.
“When we have faced crises in recent years, Hungary has always come out of them stronger than it went into them, but Hungarian-Chinese cooperation has played an absolutely indispensable role in this,” Szijjártó said on Monday as the two sides announced plans for additional investment in Hungary.
Ukraine gets armored vehicles, tanks
Most recently, the US has provided more than 60 Bradley fighting vehicles with advanced targeting systems and high-powered guns to Ukraine, while France and Britain have provided combat tanks. There are discussions about providing Ukraine fighter jets like the US’s F-16 to provide air cover for the armored units.
A year ago, as Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine, China President Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin met in Beijing where they declared a “no limits” strategic partnership. Since then, however, China has largely refrained from engaging directly in the war and warned against the use nuclear weapons threatened by Putin.