U.S.-China foreign ministers’ meeting expresses U.S. concerns about aid to Russia; Wang cites negative factors | Reuters

[北京 ２６日 ロイター] – US Secretary of State Blinken, who is visiting China, held a five-and-a-half-hour meeting with Communist Party Politburo member and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on the 26th. In this he expressed his concerns about China’s support for the Russian military.

Secretary Blinken also met with President Xi Jinping.See more

At the press conference concluding his visit to China, the Secretary of State reiterated his serious concerns about China’s supply of military parts to Russia. China is a top supplier of essential products for the manufacture of military supplies and other goods, and is being used to strengthen Russia’s “defense industrial base,” he said.

Secretary Blinken did not respond to a question about whether he would impose sanctions on China’s aid to Russia.

State Department spokesman Miller said they also discussed Taiwan, the South China Sea and other disputed issues.

China has avoided providing weapons to Russia in the Ukraine conflict. However, U.S. government officials have pointed out that Chinese companies are cooperating with Russia’s weapons industry, such as by increasing the production of ballistic missiles by Russia using Chinese-made machine tools.

While China says it does not provide weapons to the parties to the conflict and is not involved in the conflict in Ukraine, it says normal trade between China and Russia should not be interrupted or restricted.

At the beginning of the meeting, Wang acknowledged that although the “giant ship” of U.S.-China relations has stabilized, “negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and piling up.”

“Bilateral relations are facing all kinds of turmoil. China’s legitimate development rights are being unduly suppressed, and its core interests are facing challenges,” he said.

Blinken responded that “aggressive diplomacy” is needed to advance the agenda set by President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping when they met in San Francisco in November.

“There is no substitute for face-to-face diplomacy,” he said, adding that he wanted to be as clear as possible about areas of disagreement, or at least avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations.

A senior US State Department official said before the meeting that China’s support for Russia would be a major topic of discussion. The US government has said it is ready to take action against Chinese companies that supply equipment to Russia’s defense industry.

Wang said the United States should not tread on “red lines” regarding sovereignty, security or development interests. Taiwan appears to be in mind.

Blinken also met with Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong to discuss issues related to fentanyl. The United States is asking China to curb its supply of chemicals used to make fentanyl.

Our Code of Conduct: Thomson Reuters “Principles of Trust” New Tab opens new tab