US warns China against aiding Russia’s war in Ukraine

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday warned Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi against Beijing providing any support to Russia related to its invasion of Ukraine, during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

China maintains close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin but has held back from explicitly endorsing the invasion and has avoided carrying out actions that would directly position itself as violating U.S.-led global sanctions on Russia. 

Blinken “reiterated the United States’ condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine and highlighted the implications if the PRC [People’s Republic of China] were to provide support to Moscow’s invasion of a sovereign state,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in the statement.   

“He underscored that the United States remains open to cooperating with the PRC where our interests intersect.”

Blinken stressed the need for the U.S. to maintain open lines of communication with Beijing to deescalate tensions, Price said in the statement.

The meeting came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing following President Biden’s remarks in an interview published Sunday that the U.S would defend Taiwan if China decided to invade. 

“[Blinken] emphasized that the United States is committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, consistent with our longstanding one China policy,” Price said.  

“The Secretary stressed that preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is critical to regional and global security and prosperity.”

The U.S. position toward Taiwan, and Biden’s statements that American forces would defend the democratic island, which have been issued repeatedly, have infuriated the Chinese, which views the island as a rogue territory that will eventually unify with the mainland. 

Relations between Washington and Beijing have continued to devolve over a host of security, military, geopolitical, economic and environmental issues.

Blinken last met with Wang on July 9 in Bali, Indonesia, following a meeting of Group of 20 foreign ministers, where the two top diplomats emphasized the need to maintain communication on the most thorny issues.