US President Joe Biden will speak by phone this Friday (18) with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the war in Ukraine. This is the first time that a conversation between the two regarding the Russian invasion has been publicly disclosed.
Announcing the call, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US has “high concern” that China could provide Russia with military equipment to aid in the invasion of Ukraine. The US government also stressed that Biden will be “frank and direct” in his phone call with Xi Jinping.
US officials express great concern that China could provide Russia with financial and military aid in a gesture of support for the invasion of Ukraine. According to intelligence reports from Washington, the Russians have already asked the Chinese for backup, who are reportedly considering providing help.
In a seven-hour meeting in Rome, Italy, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan meets with top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi. Sullivan warned of “potential implications and consequences” for China if support for Russia is forthcoming.
It is not the first time that the Biden administration has issued public and private warnings that Beijing would face dire consequences if it provided material support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war.
The same tone was echoed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who during his speech held that China has a “responsibility” to use its influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine.
However, Blinken considered that the current positions of the Chinese government point to possible support for the Russian invasion. “Instead, it appears that China is moving in the opposite direction, refusing to condemn this aggression while seeking to portray itself as a neutral arbiter. We are concerned that they are considering directly helping Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine,” he said.
On the call, Blinken assured that Biden will make it clear that China “will take responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia’s aggression and we will not hesitate to impose costs.”
China’s position remains uncertain
From the first day that Russian troops invaded Ukrainian territory, China has refused to condemn Russia’s action in Ukraine or call it an invasion, and has censored online content in China that is pro-Western or unfavorable to Russia.
Beijing, while saying it recognizes Ukraine’s sovereignty, also said Russia has legitimate security concerns that must be addressed.
China’s assistance would be a significant development in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Chinese support could bring down the hold that Ukrainian forces still have in the country, as well as provide a counterweight to the harsh sanctions imposed on the Russian economy.
If the US reacts and decides to hit Beijing with the same type of economic sanctions imposed on Russia, the consequences would potentially be dire for the US and also for global economies, as China is the second largest economy in the world and the largest economy in the world. planet export.
The call with Xi Jinping will come days before Biden travels to Europe to meet world leaders to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The president will travel to Brussels to attend a NATO summit on March 24 and will also attend a meeting of the European Council.
The last known conversation between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping was in November, during a three-and-a-half-hour virtual summit. By the end of the meeting, no major breakthroughs were announced. At the time, Biden raised concerns about human rights, Chinese aggression against Taiwan and trade issues, the White House said at the time.
Conversation between Biden and Xi Jinping serves to prevent the worst from happening, says professor
In an interview with CNN on Thursday (17), the professor of International Relations at USP Felipe Loureiro considered that the conversation between the two presidents will serve to “prevent the worst from happening”.
The expert explains that if China “embarks more clearly in favor of Russia in terms of military aid”, this would constitute the worst possible scenario.
“I think the conversation is more about effectively containing damage than trying to aim for a change in the position of Xi Jinping, China or Beijing”, he evaluated.
Loureiro considered that, despite publicly placing itself as neutral, China, in practice, is carrying out a “pro-Russian neutrality”. “China is helping Russia by not taking a clear stand against the war and against the invasion that Russia is carrying out against Ukraine”, pointed out the professor.
*Produced by Juliana Alves, from CNN
*With information from CNN International and Reuters
Source: CNN Brasil
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