That would explain the speed with which the meeting between Sullivan and Yang in the Italian capital was arranged. “The reason for the colloquium was to clearly express our concerns about their involvement” in the war in Ukraine, and to reassure China “that any type of support for Moscow, military or economic, will have consequences,” said the spokesman for the State Department, Ned Price.
The meeting does not seem to have reassured Washington, since after it diplomatic sources assured that the United States continues to have “deep concern” about China’s alignment with Russia.
For the Americans, Beijing did not reject a request from Moscow, but was willing to help them. The Financial Times yesterday quoted what it said were cables sent by the State Department to allies in Europe and Asia, which do not specify the level or timing of the assistance that China would have sent to Russia. In Beijing, the rejection of the foreign ministry was blunt: “Pure misinformation.”
In Washington, the spokesman for the Chinese embassy, Liu Pengyu, assured that “I have never heard of” aid to the Russians.
Faced with Putin’s attitude that, for the White House, gives no sign of thinking about stopping the invasion, the meeting between Sullivan and “Tiger” Yang, as the former foreign minister is nicknamed for his resolute attitude, aims to convince China to avoid a step that would mark a point of no return, even in the face of the crucial role that the Asian giant may have “in helping to end the war.”
That is why the White House statement emphasized the fact that Sullivan and Xi’s envoy “stressed the importance of keeping the lines of communication open between the United States and China” and defined the discussion about the war as “substantial and high level”.
In recent weeks, officials from the United States and other countries have tried to warn that China could side with Russia and that this would have consequences on trade ties, the development of new technologies, exposing Beijing to another series of economic sanctions.
Chinese companies that defy US restrictions on exports to Russia could be deprived of US equipment and software needed to make their products, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said last week.
China is the world’s largest exporter, the most important trading partner of the European Union and the main external supplier of goods to the United States. Any pressure on Chinese trade could have economic knock-on effects for the United States and its allies.
US officials said on Sunday that Russia had asked China for military equipment after its invasion, raising fears in the administration of President Joe Biden that Beijing could undermine Western efforts to back Ukraine. Russia was also considering turning all its currency and gold reserves into the yuan of its Chinese ally, according to international press services.
Russia denies asking China for military assistance, saying it has enough power to accomplish all of its goals.
Source: Ambito
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