The US Secretary of State warned Beijing of "serious consequences in relations" with Washington in the event of such assistance to MoscowNEW YORK, February 19.
/tass/. The United States fears that China is allegedly considering the possibility of transferring assistance related to lethal weapons to Russia. This statement was made by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in an interview with NBC, a fragment of which was shown on Saturday.
According to Blinken, in an interview with the head of the office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee), a member of the Politburo, Wang Yi, he "conveyed [the US's] concern about China's support for Russia." "In recent years, we have seen support at the level of rhetoric and politics, and even some non-lethal assistance. But we are extremely concerned that China is considering the possibility of providing lethal assistance to Russia," the US Secretary of State claimed.
According to him, providing assistance related to lethal weapons will result in "serious consequences for Beijing in relations" with the United States.
In an interview with CBS, a fragment of which was also shown on Saturday, the head of American diplomacy was asked to explain what he means by assistance related to lethal weapons. "This is, first of all, [the supply of] weapons," Blinken said. "A whole range of products falls into this category - from ammunition to weapons themselves." "We have made it clear to them [China] that this will create a serious problem for us and our relations," the Secretary of State stressed.
At the end of January, the coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, said that the United States was calling on China not to support Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. According to him, Washington intends to take measures against those companies, including in China, that violate the US sanctions regime against Moscow.
Thus, Kirby commented on the publication of the Reuters news agency, which claimed, with reference to a source, that the US administration records "some disturbing activities of Chinese companies", allegedly providing "non-lethal military assistance" to Russia, which, however, does not constitute a violation of the regime of unilateral US sanctions. The article also said that the American side does not know whether the Chinese authorities are aware of what is happening. Earlier, the White House said that Washington was warning Beijing about the "consequences of providing" assistance to Moscow in this direction.
