US Secretary of State, Anthony BlinkenHe said that he had discussed the Russian aggression in Ukraine during more than five hours of talks with the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yiin which he raised concerns about Beijing’s alignment with Moscow.
Both diplomats described as “frank” their first in-person talks since October, in a meeting that took place a day after they attended a G20 foreign ministers meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali.
“I shared again with the state councilor that we are concerned about the PRC’s alignment with Russia,” Blinken told a news conference after the talks, referring to the PRC.
Blinken said he didn’t think China was behaving neutrally, as it had supported Russia in the United Nations and “amplified russian propaganda“.
The top US diplomat said Chinese President Xi Jinping had made it clear in a phone conversation with President Vladimir Putin on June 13 that he stood by the decision to form a partnership with Russia.
Shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Beijing and Moscow announced a “limitless” partnershipalthough US officials say they have not seen China circumvent tough US sanctions on Russia or provide it with military equipment.
US officials have warned of consequences, including sanctions, if China offers material support to the war that Moscow calls a “special military operation” to degrade the Ukrainian military.
kyiv and its Western allies say the invasion is an unprovoked land grab.
Asked about his refusal to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20, Blinken said: “The problem is this: we don’t see any sign that Russia, at the moment, is willing to engage in a meaningful diplomacy”
Wang exchanged in-depth views on “the Ukraine issue” during Saturday’s talks, according to a statement released by his ministry, without giving details.
He also told Blinken that the direction of US-China relations was at risk of remaining “off the track” due to a problem with the US’s perception of China.
Many people believe that the United States is suffering from an increasingly severe bout of “Sinophobia,”” Wang said.
Wang also said that Washington should cancel extraordinary tariffs imposed on China as soon as possible and stop imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies.
US officials had said before the talks that the meeting was aimed at keeping the rocky US-China relationship stable and preventing it from inadvertently veering into conflict.
Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are expected to speak again in the coming weeks, Blinken said.
