Russia would "struggle" without the support of China in their war against Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing after holding talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong on Friday where he stressed the importance of “responsibly managing” the differences between the United States and China. However, the two sides butted heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues including the Russia-Ukraine war with Blinken admitting he raised concerns with China about support for Russia.
He told a news conference that Moscow's invasion of Ukraine relied on China's support, telling reporters: "Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China's support."
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US officials have said China’s ties with Russia would be a primary topic of conversation during Blinken’s visit, and just before Friday’s meetings began, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would visit China in May. It comes as China has railed against US assistance to Taiwan and immediately condemned the aid as a dangerous provocation.
It also strongly opposes efforts to force TikTok’s sale. The bill also allots $61 billion for Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s invasion. The Biden administration has complained loudly that Chinese support for Russia’s military-industrial sector has allowed Moscow to subvert Western sanctions and ramp up attacks on Ukraine.
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Blinken sounded a positive note on recent progress made in bilateral cooperation, including in military communications, counternarcotics and artificial intelligence. “We are committed to maintaining and strengthening lines of communication to advance that agenda, and again deal responsibly with our differences so we avoid any miscommunications, any misperceptions, any miscalculations,” he said.
Xi stressed that China and the US must seek common ground “rather than engage in vicious competition.”
“China is happy to see a confident, open, prosperous and thriving United States,” the Chinese leader said. “We hope the US can also look at China’s development in a positive light. This is a fundamental issue that must be addressed.”
Earlier, Blinken and Wang also underscored the importance of keeping lines of communication open as they lamented persistent and deepening divisions that threaten global security. Those divisions were highlighted earlier this week when US President Joe Biden signed a massive foreign aid bill that contains several elements that the Chinese see as problematic.
Their comments hinted at a long list of differences to be discussed, including Taiwan and the South China Sea, and trade and human rights, China’s support for Russia and the production and export of synthetic opioid precursors.
“Overall, the China-US relationship is beginning to stabilise,” Wang told Blinken at the start of about five and a half hours of talks. “But at the same time, the negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and building and the relationship is facing all kinds of disruptions.”