US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that China was considering supplying weapons to Russia in its war against Ukraine, warning Beijing that any supplies “would cause a serious problem”.
“The concern we have now is based on the information we have that they plan to provide lethal support,” Blinken told CBS’ “Face The Nation.”
Asked what lethal support would entail, he replied “everything from ammunition to the weapons themselves”.
Blinken made similar comments in a series of US television interviews from Germany, where on Saturday he attended the Munich Security Conference and met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
He then told Wang that “if China provides material support to Russia or assistance in circumventing systemic sanctions,” there will be consequences, a State Department official said.
Tight links
Taken together, the US comments appeared to be among the clearest warnings yet that China may be on the verge of moving beyond rhetorical, political or diplomatic support for Russia and be prepared to help arm it in its nearly year-long fight against Ukraine.
They also came at a time when already strained US-China relations were tested by Washington’s downing of what it said was a big Chinese spy balloon.
Appearing on ABC on Sunday, Blinken pointed out that US President Joe Biden warned his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, as early as March against sending weapons to Russia.
Since then, “China has been careful not to cross that line, including refraining from selling lethal weapons systems for use on the battlefield,” according to an administrative source familiar with the matter.
A leading Republican senator who also attended the Munich conference, Lindsey Graham, said it would be a big mistake for China to provide Russia with weapons.
To do so now, he said, would be “dumber than dirt. It would be like buying a ticket on the Titanic after seeing the movie.”
“No excuses”
Graham, known as a well-informed foreign policy hawk, also said he had strong indications that the United States would soon announce plans to train Ukrainian fighter pilots, which would represent a further step in efforts to gradually Western crescents to arm Ukraine.
Graham said he thought the United States should declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism for its actions in Ukraine – which would mean that China or any other country supplying it with weapons would face sanctions.
Blinken’s meeting with Wang – the highest-level meeting between the countries since US planes shot down the Chinese balloon on Feb. 4 – did not appear to ease tensions.
“I just told him it was unacceptable and it could never happen again,” Blinken told CBS of the ball incident.
Wang on Saturday dismissed US claims of high-altitude spying in unusually strong language, calling them “hysterical and absurd.”
Blinken said on Sunday that his counterpart offered him “no apologies.”
The difficult exchanges came a day after US Vice President Kamala Harris said in Munich that Russia had committed “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine through “widespread and systemic” attacks against the country’s civilian population.
Russia news
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