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Warned Xi that helping Russia will affect economic ties: Biden
Biden was speaking at a press conference in Brussels during his visit to Europe to reinforce the unified western response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine
US President Joe Biden on Thursday said he had warned his Chinese counterpart during their conversation earlier this week that Beijing would be putting its economic relationships with the West in “significant jeopardy” if it helps Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
“I made no threats but I pointed out the number of American and foreign corporations that left Russia as a consequence of their barbaric behaviour. And I indicated that I knew how much he — because we had long discussions in the past about his interest in making sure he has economic relations and economic growth with Europe and the United States — would be putting himself in significant jeopardy and those aims if, in fact, he were to move forward,” Biden told reporters when asked about his conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 18, and whether he had seen any moves from China towards providing military or other supplies to Russia.
Biden was speaking at a press conference in Brussels during his visit to Europe to reinforce the unified western response to Russia’s aggression. The US president said he would not offer any details about what the US knew or did not know as a consequence of the conversation, but added, “I think that China understands that its economic future is much more closely tied to the West than it is to Russia. And so I am hopeful that he does not get engaged.”
He also said that he had discussed with the Nato and European Union the need to set up a system to monitor the violation of sanctions and collate information such as who, where, when, and how they had been violated, in what appeared to be another pointed message to China saying that the West is watching.
US officials have earlier said that they are tracking three key areas in this regard — one, any attempt by Chinese companies to “backfill” Russian needs in response to western export controls; two, any “systematic efforts, industrial-scale efforts” to reorient the settlement of financial payments; and three, any new attempts to seize opportunities that have been created as result of the reduction of commerce with Japan, Europe, and other countries.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, on Wednesday said that the US did not have any evidence of “actual provision of military equipment for use in Ukraine from China to Russia” so far, but added it would be monitoring any developments closely.
Sullivan said he would be “intentionally vague” when asked if he was more reassured, or more concerned, after the conversations between the two sides.
“The reason is because this is not the kind of circumstance where you just kind of feel reassurance. It’s going to require constant vigilance, constant monitoring. We will have to see what happens,” he said. “It’s something we’re watching every day. And I really can’t characterise my level of my level of comfort with that out one way or the other.”
Despite the Xi and Biden’s “straightforward conversation” last week, there hasn’t been any noticeable dilution in Beijing’s support for Moscow. Instead, China on Thursday voted in favour of a United Nations Security Council resolution by Russia on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, even as all 13 other members of the Council abstained from voting.
China also backed a South Africa-sponsored resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine in the UN General Assembly, which was closer to Russia’s position on the issue, along with 49 other countries, while 140 countries, including the US, backed a resolution proposed by Ukraine instead that explicitly ascribed the crisis to Russian aggression.
