US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday (local time) said that China “bears responsibility” to use its influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine. Blinken’s statement come ahead of US President Joe Biden’s call on Friday with China’s Xi Jinping, reported CNN. “We continue to call on all nations, especially those with direct influence with Russia, to use whatever leverage they have to compel Moscow to end this war of choice. We believe China, in particular, has a responsibility to use its influence with President Putin and to defend the international rules and principles that it professes to support,” Blinken said. “Instead, it appears that China is moving in the opposite direction by refusing to condemn this aggression while seeking to portray itself as a neutral arbiter. And we’re concerned that they’re considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine. President Biden will be speaking to President Xi tomorrow and will make clear that China will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia’s aggression and we will not hesitate to impose costs,” said Blinken while slamming China over reports of Beijing assisting Moscow with weapons in Ukraine.
Earlier, China refused to supply Russian airlines with aeroplane parts after the US “bluntly” warned China against helping Russia circumvent economic sanctions imposed by the US and its allies.
There is a lot to speculate about the strategic relationship between China and Russia in regards to the war in Ukraine and the degree of knowledge that Xi Jinping had before President Vladimir Putin decided to launch a full-scale military campaign in the country. So far, China has abstained from the UNSC resolution against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
