Illustration photo – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a July 9, 2022 file photo.
Washington – The United States is concerned that China is considering providing Russia with military equipment for fighting in Ukraine, including weapons and ammunition. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the CBS television station that, and he also repeated that, according to the US, China has already provided some military support to Russia – but not weapons and ammunition.
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“We have seen Chinese companies support Russian military efforts with military equipment, of course in China there is no real distinction between private companies and the state. What we fear now is that China is also considering providing weapons and ammunition,” said Blinken, who has today on the agenda is a visit to Turkey, where he left for the Munich Security Conference.
In Munich, Blinken met with senior Chinese diplomat Wang Im, whom he “warned of the consequences if China provided Russia with material assistance for the invasion” of Ukraine , writes the Reuters agency.
Citing two US sources, CNN and Bloomberg reported in January that the US administration had communicated with the Chinese government and “expressed concerns” about evidence that Chinese companies are supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine with non-lethal military equipment such as helmets or bulletproof vests. . At the time, the media reported that the Chinese central government did not necessarily have to approve the support, as it does not monitor every step of its companies in such detail.
It is not clear from Blinken's current statement whether the US believes that even the alleged support of Chinese companies for Russia at the time was approved by the central government or whether it was directly ordered by the central government.
China and Russia declared in October last year that they are “friends without borders”, but China did not support the Russian invasion of Ukraine and at least did not officially provide Russia with financial or material aid. In Munich on Saturday, Wang I repeatedly emphasized that China always stands on the side of peace and that it supports peace talks and dialogue in the war in Ukraine. He also criticized “certain forces” who, according to him, do not want an early end to the war.
