Russia has reportedly approached China for military equipment and economic assistance to aid its invasion of Ukraine, a development that comes as the White House national security adviser meets with his Chinese counterpart in Rome to discuss the conflict.
According to US officials, Russia sought military equipment to press its attack on Ukraine, which is running low on supplies.
The officials did not say what kind of weapons Moscow requested or how China reacted.
However, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who is meeting with China’s top foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi on Monday, said the US has informed Beijing that “large-scale sanctions, evasion efforts, or support to Russia to backfill them will absolutely have consequences.”
“We will not allow that to happen, and we will not allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions imposed by any country, anywhere in the world,” Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.
Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, acknowledged that Ukraine will “certainly be a hot topic” at the talks in Rome on Monday, but accused the US of spreading false information.
“Recently, the US side has peddled disinformation against China on the Ukraine issue with nefarious intentions,” Lijian told reporters.
“China’s position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear, and we have been actively promoting peace talks.” It is critical for all parties to exercise restraint and de-escalate the situation rather than adding fuel to the fire; it is critical to push for a diplomatic solution rather than further escalating the situation,” he said.
China purchases weapons from Russia, including fighter jets and surface-to-air missile systems, but the relationship is one-sided.
“As far as I know, China does not sell any weapons systems to Russia,” Taylor Fravel, a professor of Chinese defence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the Washington Post.
“In other words, Russia has enabled China’s military modernization, but China has not contributed much to the development of Russia’s armed forces, aside from profits from Russian weapons sales, which can be reinvested to improve Russian capabilities,” he explained.
A month after President Vladimir Putin appeared at the Winter Olympics with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the two leaders praised their “unshakable” bond while opposing NATO expansion in Europe, Beijing referred to its relationship with Moscow as “strategic partners.”
China also condemned the invasion of Ukraine and stated that it would work to achieve a cease-fire.
The Communist-ruled country is caught between any alliance with Russia and the reality of losing key trading partners in the United States and Europe.
