Daccanomics
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claims that China is considering supplying weapons and ammunition to Russia for the Ukrainian war, which Beijing fiercely denies.
He also said that Chinese firms were already providing “non-lethal support” to Russia and new intelligence information suggested that Beijing is weighing if they could provide “lethal support”.
The United States warned that such an escalation would have “severe consequences” for China and might increase tensions between the two countries.
“We’ve been concerned from day one about that possibility,” Blinken said in an interview with “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan on Saturday. When asked about the sort of lethal aid China is considering, Blinken talked in general terms.
There’s a whole gamut of things that — that fit in that category, everything from ammunition to the weapons themselves.
Beijing has denied the claims made by the United States regarding the supply of weapons and has accused Washington of spreading false information.
“We do not accept the United States’ finger-pointing on China-Russia relations, let alone coercion and pressure,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said when questioned about the allegations during a routine news briefing on Monday.
China has also denied reports that Moscow has requested military equipment.
The discussions on public disclosure came ahead of the United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, which will mark one year since Russia invaded Ukraine.
It comes after a series of closed-door appeals to China by North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, culminating in a formal warning delivered to Wang Yi, China’s senior foreign-policy official, over the weekend in Munich by a number of Western officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
Mr. Wang Yi, speaking at the Munich Security Conference this week, told world leaders that China is working on a peace proposal to end the ongoing conflict.
Mr. Blinken will address the Security Council to mark the anniversary of the Ukraine war.
One year ago, Mr. Blinken also spoke to the council and shared U.S. intelligence that pointed toward Russia’s invasion.
