Sending weapons might result in serious economic fines for Chinese enterprises as well as a significant escalation of trade tensions with the United States at a crucial time.
This latest twist comes as the United States and China plan to hold their first high-level face-to-face talks since Russia invaded Ukraine. The White House said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with China’s top diplomat, Communist Party Politburo member Yang Jiechi, in Rome on Monday. It’s part of the Biden administration’s ongoing pressure on Beijing to pressure Putin to end the crisis and was arranged before news of Russia’s intervention in China broke.
The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday. As the conflict enters its third week, Putin’s election campaign is struggling. The question is whether it is in President Xi Jinping’s interest to process a Russian arms request and trigger the biggest change in China’s foreign policy since Richard Nixon’s visit in 1972. Xi doesn’t sought neither to condemn nor support Putin’s actions. But while Russia sells far more weapons to China than it buys, Beijing’s rapid military modernization means it has produced more advanced weaponry in recent years.
The arms shipment would result in severe economic sanctions for Chinese companies and a major escalation in trade tensions with the United States at an extremely sensitive time.
As China’s most powerful leader in decades, Xi is consolidating his power and has made stability a priority ahead of a five-year party congress later this year, at which he is expected to secure a third term. China has said it wants a quick resolution to the war, and there are no signs it wants to help prolong a conflict that is seriously hurting financial and energy markets.
China’s response Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said he was unaware of any suggestion that China might be willing to help Russia: “China is deeply concerned and saddened by the situation in Ukraine. We sincerely hope that the situation will calm down and that peace will return as soon as possible. materially or economically supports Russia. “That’s our concern,” Sullivan said. Communicate directly and privately with Beijing. “Beijing has not condemned Russia for its actions in Ukraine, but has repeatedly called for negotiations on a ceasefire and a solution to the conflict.
When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, China is remained officially neutral. While China was Russia, Russia continued to provide diplomatic support after the invasion, including bolstering a US-led conspiracy theory. Biolabs in Ukraine, Beijing officials also expressed concern over civilian casualties, vouched for Ukraine’s sovereignty and stepped up diplomacy with European nations in phone talks for peace talks President Joe Biden’s top advisers want China to enforce the sanctions imposed by the United States on the Russian economy, and its allies and officials see no evidence that Beijing has tried to circumvent them.
The last time Sullivan and Yan g met in Switzerland in October, they discussed areas of mutual interest such as climate change, but also sticking points – including human rights concerns in Hong Kong and disputes over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Now the stakes are significantly higher. Just weeks before the invasion, in a lengthy joint statement, Putin and Xi said the two nations’ friendship had “no limits”. What China knew of Putin’s intentions will form an important backdrop for the talks in Rome. “We think China actually knew before the invasion that Vladimir Putin was planning something,” Sullivan told CNN. “They may not have understood the full extent because it is very likely that Putin lied to them the same way he lied to Europeans and others.”