The State Department said the United States “won’t stand by” if the Chinese Communist Party attempts to “bail Russia out” following the Kremlin’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
While the U.S. criticizes China for its “at least tacit approval” of Russia’s invasion, China has repeatedly sought to lay blame at the feet of the U.S., calling it one of the “culprits of the crisis.” State Department spokesman Ned Price criticized China at length on Monday over its support for its Russian ally.
“We are watching very closely the extent to which the PRC or any other country for that matter provides any form of support — whether that’s material support, whether that’s economic support, whether that’s financial support — to Russia,” Price said. “It would be of, of course, the greatest concern if a country like the PRC were to be doing that, a country that, by the way, has tremendous leverage with Russia, has a relationship with Russia that is distinct from the relationship that we or just about any country on the planet has with Russia, and with that in mind, could do more than probably many other countries to bring an end to this senseless violence.”
He added: “We have communicated very clearly to Beijing that … we will not allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses.”
When asked if the U.S. was preparing sanctions against China, Price added: “We’re not going to preview where this might go. We have been very clear both privately with Beijing and publicly with Beijing that there would be consequences for any such support.”
SULLIVAN WARNS OF CONSEQUENCES IF CHINA HELPS RUSSIA EVADE SANCTIONS
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said on two Sunday shows that the U.S. would not just allow Beijing to undermine U.S. and international sanctions against Russia.
When asked if he considers Chinese leader Xi Jinping a co-conspirator with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Sullivan replied: “We believe that China in fact was aware before the invasion took place that Vladimir Putin was planning something.”
Putin and Xi met at the start of the Olympics in February to announce a broad strategic partnership “without limits” amid Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s border. Since the full-scale invasion was launched, China has carefully avoided condemning Russia, has placed blame on the U.S., and has joined the Kremlin in spreading what the U.S. says is misinformation about the U.S. working on biological weapons in Ukraine.
Price declined to confirm or deny reports that China had showed willingness to supply Russia with economic or military assistance after an alleged request from the Kremlin, saying only that the U.S. has “coordinated very closely with our allies” and “shared concerns not just about Russia’s egregious behavior but concerns beyond that.”
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Sullivan met with Yang Jiechi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, for seven hours in Rome on Monday.
“The national security adviser and our delegation raised directly and very clearly our concerns about the PRC’s support to Russia in the wake of the invasion and the implications that any such support would have for the PRC’s relationship not only with us, but for its relationships around the world,” Price said. “That includes our allies and partners in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific.”
Price said the purpose of the meeting “was to convey very clearly our concerns and to discuss the implications.” And he warned: “We made very clear that any country that would seek to bail Russia out … will be met with consequences. We will ensure that no country is able to get away with such a thing. … There is not a country out there that would be able to fully extricate Moscow from this.”
CIA Director William Burns said last week that China was likely “unsettled” by Russia’s flawed…
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