Due to new data and the vow of an “unlimited partnership” between Xi and Putin shortly before the invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Blinken is concerned about any Chinese shipment of military materiel. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday (02/19) criticized the possibility that China supplies arms and ammunition to Russia.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken expects “serious problems” for SinoUS relations
Photo: DW / Deutsche Welle
“Previously Chinese companies […] provided nonlethal support to Russia for operations in Ukraine. Now we are concerned about the information that they are considering providing deadly support,” he commented in an interview with CBS News, stressing that the situation could have “serious consequences.”
He said he met with the top official of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday and expressed the United States’ “deep concern” at the occurrence of this type of transaction.
Blinken justified Washington’s suspicions by saying: “Just weeks before the aggression [militar russa em solo ucraniano]You will remember that President Xi [Jinping, da China] and the president [russo Vladimir] Putin had a meeting where they talked about partnership without borders. And we fear that with this lack of borders comes Chinese support for Russia in the war.”
In the shadow of the spy balloon
Beijing denies that Moscow requested the delivery of military material and has reiterated its neutral position in the war in Ukraine with repeated appeals for peace.
However, Washington has already sanctioned a Chinese company for supplying satellite imagery of Ukraine to the Russian mercenary group Wagner, which is contributing thousands of fighters to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The head of US diplomacy stressed that “apparently in China, no distinction is made between private companies and the state.”
If it comes to that, Blinken added, the arms shipment will cause “serious problems” for USChina relations which have already been seriously shaken since a Chineseorigin “spy balloon” was spotted and shot down by the US Air Force.
The object was in US airspace at the end of January and was shot down over Atlantic waters on February 4. Days earlier, it had overflown several areas of the United States, including the state of Montana (northwest), where one of the country’s three nuclear missile silos is located. Beijing claims the balloon accidentally entered US territory.
The US Secretary of State also expressed fears that China will help Russia escape Western economic sanctions as bilateral trade between the two countries continues to grow and Beijing continues to buy oil, gas and coal from Moscow.
av (AFP,Lusa,Portal)
Deutsche Welle is Germany’s international broadcaster and produces independent journalism in 30 languages.