US: China to Face Consequences Should They Deepen Ties With Russia

The U.S. says China will face consequences "should they deepen their relationship with Russia."

Beijing has supplied Russia with large volumes of goods that have both civilian and military uses, and Biden administration officials worry that Chinese President Xi Jinping could further aid Moscow's incursion into Ukraine by providing it with lethal weapons.  

"There will certainly be consequences for China should they deepen their relationship with Russia," Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Wednesday at a press briefing, reports The Hill.

"We haven't seen them give lethal aid to Russia at this time for the war, but they also haven't taken that off the table."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday told CBS News' Margaret Brennan that he confronted China's top foreign policy official, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, telling him Washington believed China was "considering providing lethal support to Russia in its efforts in Ukraine."

"And I was able to share with him, as President Biden had shared with President Xi, the serious consequences that would have for our relationship," Blinken said.

"To date, we have seen Chinese companies — and, of course, in China, there's really no distinction between private companies and the state — we have seen them provide nonlethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine," Blinken said.

"The concern that we have now is, based on information we have, that they're considering providing lethal support," he added. "And we've made very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship."

Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on the eve of the security conference said, "China stands ready to work with Russia to further advance our comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era."

But China on Monday hit back against accusations it was considering sending lethal aid to Moscow and said the U.S. was escalating the war.

"It is the U.S., not China, that has been pouring weapons into the battlefield," Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing. "The U.S. is in no position to tell China what to do."

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