On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken relied on earlier claims about Chinese companies providing covert support to Ukraine and insisted that the Chinese government consider expanding that support.
Would China dare to send weapons to Russia?
According to Blinken, the Chinese government is considering supplying munitions and weapons to Russia to aid the war in Ukraine, expanding existing “non-lethal” support from Chinese companies, and providing “lethal support” to the Russian war effort.
During an interview with CBS News following a meeting with Chinese diplomat Wang Yi during the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Blinken said he expressed “deep concern” about China helping Russia.
“To date, Chinese companies have provided non-lethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine. The concern we have now is based on the information we have that they are considering providing lethal support,” Blinken stated.
The US official did not elaborate on the type of weapons China is considering sending to Ukraine, nor did he reveal where the information came from.
Blinken claimed that if China went ahead with the plan, it would cross a red line and create a “serious problem” for US-Sino relations.
China Responds
Shortly after Blinken made these comments, the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded by telling the United States to stay out of China’s relationship with Russia. Wang Wenbin, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, said the United States “is not qualified to give orders to China.”
“We will never accept US criticism, even coercion and pressure on China-Russia relations .”
Wang also appeared to deny claims that China is preparing to help Russia with ammunition and weapons, insisting that China’s position of neutrality remains intact. Specifically, Wang said China’s position on the Ukraine conflict “can be simply expressed as promoting peace talks,” adding that China continues to support “dialogue and peace firmly.”
Zelensky warns of a world war.
In an interview published Monday by the German newspaper Die Welt, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that China’s involvement in the conflict could be enough to trigger a world war.
Zelensky also argued that China is probably unable to help right now but did not rule out the possibility. “Right now, however, I don’t think it’s possible,” Zelensky said, adding that if China were to ally with Russia, “there would be a world war, and I think China is aware of that.”
