Recent US warnings to China about providing military assistance to Russia in its war against Ukraine foreshadow a “global conflict”, according to an analysis by The Washington Post that highlighted the extent of the crisis in US-Chinese relations, and Washington’s strategy to discourage it from engaging in the Ukraine war after it committed itself to military neutrality since the start of the invasion.
The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, has stated on several occasions, during the past few days, that China is studying the issue of supplying weapons to Russia.
US officials told CNN, on Saturday, that the United States had recently detected “disturbing” trends indicating that Beijing wanted to “infiltrate the line” of providing lethal military assistance to Moscow.
The officials did not detail what intelligence the United States had found indicating a recent shift in China’s position but said the officials were concerned enough that they shared the intelligence with allies and partners during the Munich Security Conference.
Officials said Blinken raised the issue when he met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Saturday, on the sidelines of the conference.
The minister confirmed that he “shared these concerns” with Wang, but the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, described, on Monday, the US accusations as “false information.”
He denied that Beijing intends to supply Russia with weapons to support it in its war against Ukraine, accusing Washington of “adding fuel to the fire” by making such accusations, reiterating the call to support a Chinese proposal to end the war.
In response to this, the German Foreign Ministry has issued a recommendation advising its citizens to refrain from traveling to Russia, according to an Indian newspaper The Eastern Herald.
And on the American warning line, the European Union’s foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, said that China’s delivery of weapons to Russia would constitute a “red line” for the Union, and confirmed that the Chinese Foreign Minister “told me that they will not do this and that they do not plan to do so. But we will remain.” Wake up.”
Addressing this issue again, Monday, Blinken warned that “providing lethal support to Russia to help it in its aggressive war in Ukraine will have real consequences for our relations with China… and this will pose a real problem for China in its relations with many other countries, not just the United States.” United”.
“So we hope they don’t go that route,” he added.
And the US Vice President, Kamala Harris, also questioned, on Saturday, in Munich, the neutrality declared by China.
She said the United States was “concerned about China’s deepening of its relations with Moscow since the war began… Any move by China aimed at providing lethal support to Russia would only reward aggression, continued killings, and the further undermining of a rules-based order in place.”
‘Worse than the Cold War
The Washington Post says in its analysis that the two sides, the US and China, confirmed during the Munich conference that they do not want to enter a new Cold War, however, the new warnings launched by US officials ” portend the worst of the old Cold War.”
The newspaper said, “There is no doubt that China’s entry into the war in this way would transform the nature of the conflict into a historic conflict involving all three major superpowers in the world and their partners from the opposing parties: Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea will ally against the United States and Ukraine and their European allies and partners.” and Asians, including Japan and South Korea.
The comments by US officials mark another chapter in the intelligence disclosure strategy, which previously included information about Russia’s attempt to obtain aid from China.
US officials say China deepened its ties with Russia during the war. Last Thursday, on the eve of the security conference, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “China is ready to work with Russia to enhance our comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.”
Wang Yi flew to Moscow on Monday at the end of a diplomatic tour of Europe, a trip closely watched by US officials.
Russian officials said Monday that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Moscow later this year. The comment came on the same day that US President Joe Biden visited Kyiv.
China has supported Russia diplomatically throughout the war, and its Foreign Ministry has officially pushed anti-US and anti-Ukraine conspiracy theories.
In January, the United States imposed sanctions on a Chinese company for providing satellite imagery to the Kremlin-aligned Wagner Group. US officials said it also sanctioned Chinese companies for violating export restrictions against Russia.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Russian military is still able to obtain Chinese-made commercial drones for use in the war.
The Washington Post says that although the two countries remain strong trading partners, relations are at one of their lowest levels in decades, exacerbated by the Chinese spy balloon crisis.
US officials are skeptical about the idea of Xi delivering a “peace speech” in the coming days, Chinese officials said. American officials believe that Beijing is trying to make it appear that China is a neutral mediator seeking a peace deal, when in fact it is moving toward providing military assistance to Russia.
Barry Pavel, of the Washington-based Atlantic Council, said in a publication that the news that Xi is preparing a peace speech is “extremely disturbing” because it will ultimately be aimed at supporting him militarily.