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U.S. Blinken warns China’s Wang Yi against supporting Russian invasion

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday warned top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi of consequences should China provide material support to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying in an interview after the two met that Washington was concerned Beijing was considering supplying weapons to Moscow.

The top diplomats of the two superpowers met at an undisclosed location on the sidelines of a global security conference in Munich, just hours after Wang scolded Washington as “hysterical” in a running dispute over the U.S. downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon.

Relations between the two countries have been fraught since Washington said Beijing flew a spy balloon over the continental U.S. before American fighter jets shot it down on President Joe Biden’s orders. The dispute also came at a time when the West is closely watching Beijing’s response to the Ukraine war.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on the sidelines of a global security conference in Munich. Blinken told Yi that the balloon incident must never happen again https://t.co/navdXzA6Wg pic.twitter.com/JbbrZ4PKGJ

— Reuters (@Reuters) February 19, 2023
In an interview to be aired on Sunday morning on NBC News’ “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd,” Blinken said the United States was very concerned that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia and that he made clear to Wang that “would have serious consequences in our relationship.”

“There are various kinds of lethal assistance that they are at least contemplating providing, to include weapons,” Blinken said, adding that Washington would soon release more details.

Wang told Blinken the United States must “face up to and resolve the damage” to bilateral relations “caused by the indiscriminate use of force”, China’s foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Wang was referring to the recent shootdown of what the United States called a spy balloon but Beijing said that it was a weather-monitoring craft.

In another statement, the ministry warned Washington against further escalation.

The West has been wary of China’s response to the Ukraine war, with some warning that a Russian victory would color Beijin’s actions toward Taiwan. China has refrained from condemning the war or calling it an “invasion.”

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