Ukraine war: Why Blinken says China ‘considered’ supplying Russia with weapons – BBC News 中文

Beijing has denied reports that Moscow has asked it for military equipment.

Chinese President Xi Jinping counts Russian President Vladimir Putin as an ally. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Beijing has never condemned Russia. Xi Jinping has been trying to project a neutral stance in this war and has been “calling for peace”. However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that it will not accept the US’s “dictating” and “coercion” in its relationship with Russia.

Stephen Nagy, a senior associate professor of international relations at Tokyo International Christian University, told BBC Chinese that Beijing’s strengthening of “transportation” (such as providing energy, monitoring equipment, and food to the Russian army) to support Russian attacks may be able to support Blinken. Evidence of allegations.

But he emphasized that Blinken’s accusation needs to be substantiated: “For many allies and critics of the United States, they still remember the fact that you sent troops to the Iraq war for the second time on the grounds of ‘lethal chemical weapons’ and so on. past.”

Najib believes that without concrete evidence, the U.S. accusation may undermine the trust of all walks of life in the United States, damage the overall intelligence assessment of the U.S., and the White House’s leadership role in countering Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Najib also said: “Unless it is found that Chinese weapons, targeting technology, drones and other lethal system resources are being delivered to Russian soldiers, it will be difficult to prove that Beijing is cooperating with Moscow and providing lethal (material) assistance.”

Najib also added that if evidence of Beijing’s support for Moscow in the Ukrainian battlefield really “surfaces”, it will fundamentally and openly undermine the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence” that Beijing has always claimed to abide by. And deepen the United States, Japan, and other countries such as the European Union to mistrust China’s intentions to operate in the Indo-Pacific region and its compliance with international law.

Blinken made the allegations in an interview with CBS after a meeting with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. He said he expressed deep concern during the meeting about the “possibility of China providing lethal (resource) support to Russia.”

“We’ve seen them provide non-lethal (material) support to Russia for use in Ukraine. Our concern now is based on the information that they are considering lethal (material) support.

Blinken did not elaborate on what communications the United States had received about the potential Chinese plans. But when asked what the U.S. thought China might offer Russia, he said it included weapons and ammunition.

The U.S. has already sanctioned a Chinese company for allegedly providing satellite images of Ukraine to the mercenary Wagner Group, which sent thousands of Russian troops to fight in Ukraine.

Blinken told CBS affirmatively that Chinese companies provided non-lethal support to Russia. “Of course, in China there is no distinction between private companies and states.” He added that if China supplied arms to Russia, it would cause “serious problems for our relationship”.

Song Wendi, a lecturer at the School of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University, analyzed that the relevant allegations seem to indicate that the US is expanding the scope of scrutiny of China’s actions. Because the White House now not only thinks that Beijing’s “direct” military material support to Moscow is a problem, but now Beijing’s “indirect” assistance is also expressed by the US side. He said that the so-called indirect aid projects may include providing aid through third countries, or funding Russian private security companies that are not part of the Russian government.

Najib told the BBC that over the past year Beijing had adopted a delicate balancing act over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, ensure that Beijing can benefit from Russia’s muddy battle in Ukraine, that is, access to cheap energy that Russia exports to China. “Beijing may understand that deeper or explicit involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine could harm Beijing’s interests and prompt the West to punish Beijing economically at a time when it is already facing enormous headwinds.”

Tensions between Washington and Beijing did not ease as expected after the US shot down a Chinese balloon in early February. U.S.-China relations could sour if Beijing is confirmed to have supplied weapons to the Russian military.

Blinken’s warning seemed clearly aimed at deterring China from doing so.

He also said in the interview that Washington is concerned that Beijing is helping Moscow evade Western sanctions aimed at weakening the Russian economy: Trade between China and Russia has been growing, and China is one of the largest markets for Russian oil, gas and coal.

NATO members, including the United States, are sending various weapons, ammunition and equipment, including tanks, to Ukraine. But those countries did not send fighter jets, and Blinken would not say whether the United States would help other countries supply jets.

According to Reuters, Wang Yi said in Munich on Saturday (February 18) that China “neither stood idly by nor fueled the flames” of the war in Ukraine. He added that China would issue a document clarifying Beijing’s position on resolving the Ur conflict. He said the document would state that the territorial integrity of all countries must be respected.

“I suggest that everyone, especially friends in Europe, start to calmly think about what efforts we can make to stop this war,” Wang Yi said.

“Some forces don’t seem to want the negotiations to succeed or the war to end soon,” Wang added, without specifying who he was referring to.

Separately, Italian (Italy) Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Xi was scheduled to deliver a “peace speech” on February 24, the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr Tajani told Italian radio that Xi’s speech would call for peace rather than condemn Moscow, according to Reuters.

In addition, during the summit in Munich, Blinken and Wang Yi exchanged heated views on the broader debate over the alleged shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon over the United States. Blinken said the United States will not “tolerate any violation of our sovereignty,” adding that “this irresponsible behavior must never happen again.”

Blinken also told CBS that other countries are concerned about China’s “surveillance balloon program” across five continents.

Wang Yi called the incident a “political farce created by the United States” and accused the White House of “unscrupulously blocking and suppressing China.”

Song Wendi, who has long studied U.S.-China relations, analyzed that the U.S. gained a lot of political capital in the so-called “Chinese spy balloon” incident, and is using it generously at this moment. He said Blinken could be seen again deploying his usual “alliance building” strategy to bring more countries into the U.S.-China dispute and put them on Washington’s side – Blinken said China’s “spy balloons” The plan not only violated the sovereignty of the United States, but also “invaded the airspace of more than 40 countries on five continents.”

However, Song Wendi also emphasized that after these strong statements, the US statement reassured China that it would not cross Beijing’s red line. Blinken reiterated that “the United States‘ long-term one-China policy has not changed,” but he also immediately emphasized the importance to the United States of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. “The attitude towards China is still soft but hard.”