Muenchen, The Indonesia Post – US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Saturday warned his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, of the consequences if Beijing supplied aid equipment for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The statement was reiterated by Blinken to Yi on the sidelines of a global security conference in Munich, Germany, according to US officials.
The two diplomats from the two superpowers met at an undisclosed location in Munich. The US State Department confirmed the meeting lasted about an hour.
In a telephone briefing to reporters, a senior US State Department official said China was trying to “play two feet” by claiming that Beijing wanted to contribute to peace and stability while taking the “worrying” step of supporting a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The minister (Blinken) was quite forthright in his warning about the possible repercussions and consequences if China provided material assistance to Russia or helped Russia circumvent systematic sanctions,” said the senior official, who wished to remain anonymous.
In an interview with NBC News, Blinken said Washington had received information that China might provide Russia with lethal weapons of war.
The West has been wary of China’s response to the Ukraine war. Several warnings suggest that a Russian victory could influence China’s actions towards Taiwan.
China has so far also refrained from condemning the war or calling it an “invasion”.
Earlier, speaking on a panel at the conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi again called for dialogue and advised European countries to “think calmly” about how to end the Ukraine war.
Yi also said “there are some forces that don’t seem to want negotiations to succeed or the war to end soon,” without specifying who he was referring to.
Relations between the US and China have been strained since Washington said Beijing had flown a spy balloon over the US mainland before US fighter jets shot it down on President Joe Biden’s orders. (mhn/bbs)
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