US says China is considering arming Russia in Ukraine war

China could consider arming Russia in the Ukraine war, this is the warning issued by the United States. A situation that could lead to a dangerous increase in international tension after almost a year since the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory. 

Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, made reference to this potentially dangerous Chinese initiative at a time of diplomatic clashes with the Asian giant over the detection of an alleged Chinese spy balloon flying over US territory that was shot down by American planes at the beginning of February. 

Antony Blinken told CBS that China was now "considering providing lethal support" to Moscow that would range "from munitions to the weapons themselves". "We've made it very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship," the US secretary of state added. 

Excellent panel discussion today with @DmytroKuleba and @ABaerbock. The United States and our Allies and partners are more united than ever in our support for Ukraine. We appreciate Germany’s leadership in supporting Ukraine with security, economic, and humanitarian assistance. pic.twitter.com/pjeNLpZ76T

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 19, 2023

The US secretary of state warned China on Monday that if it delivers weapons to Russia it will have "a real problem in its relations with many other countries, not just the United States". "We are concerned that China is considering supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine with lethal assistance, which we are watching very, very closely," said Antony Blinken during a press conference as part of his recent official visit to Turkey to assist those affected by the earthquakes that struck the Turkish-Syrian border. 

China has been theoretically neutral on the Ukrainian war, without expressly or militarily supporting Russia, but without condemning Russia's aggression in its neighbouring country. In fact, through its foreign policy chief Wang Yi, Beijing stated that it has "always been on the side of peace and dialogue". This is the message Wang Yi conveyed to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Wang Yi also told Kuleba that China "has always insisted on the need to promote peace and dialogue". The Chinese Foreign Minister also said that his country "is willing to work with the international community to prevent further deterioration of the situation", as reported by EFE news agency.

There are concerns about China's ties with Russia, which are international allies on other issues and have direct contact, but Wang Yi insisted that Beijing supports dialogue and working for peace. 

Antony Blinken also noted on ABC that US President Joe Biden warned Chinese President Xi Jinping not to send weapons to Ukraine. Following this warning, 'China has been careful not to cross that line, even delaying the sale of lethal weapons systems for use on the battlefield', according to a US administration source as reported by Arab News. 

Antony Blinken was able to meet with Wang Yi, although after these latest statements it seems that there has been no rapprochement of positions, which have been rather acrimonious since the episode of the alleged Chinese spy balloon, which was denounced by Blinken and about which he warned his Chinese counterpart: "I simply told him that this was unacceptable and that it could never happen again". This espionage was denied by the Chinese authorities. 

Following the US accusations of possible assistance to Russia, China has been quick to counterattack diplomatically. "It is the United States and not China that sends weapons to the battlefield unceasingly," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. "We urge the US to seriously reflect on its own actions and do more to de-escalate the situation, promote peace and dialogue, and stop blaming and spreading false information," he added. 

Meanwhile, at the same Munich Security Conference, Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Policy, warned of the need to rapidly rearm Ukraine in view of the shortage of supplies that the Ukrainian army has been suffering in recent days following the intensification of Russian offensives against targets such as Kharkov and Bakhmut, coinciding with the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began under the pretext of Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan to "demilitarise and denazify" the Ukrainian country. 

Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.