MUNICH: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday (Feb 18) warned top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi of consequences should China provide material support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying in an interview after the two met that Washington was concerned Beijing was considering supplying weapons to Moscow.
Relations between the two countries have been fraught since Washington said China flew a spy balloon over the continental US before American fighter jets shot it down on President Joe Biden's orders. The dispute also came at a time when the West is closely watching Beijing's response to the Ukraine war.
Wang told Blinken the United States must"face up to and resolve the damage" to bilateral relations"caused by the indiscriminate use of force", China's foreign ministry said on Sunday. Speaking to reporters in a briefing call, a senior State Department official said China was trying to"have it both ways" by claiming it wants to contribute to peace and stability but at the same time taking"concerning" steps to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The West has been wary of China's response to the Ukraine war, with some warning that a Russian victory would colour China's actions toward Taiwan. China has refrained from condemning the war or calling it an"invasion". The balloon's flight this month over US territory triggered an uproar in Washington and prompted Blinken to postpone a planned visit to Beijing. That Feb 5-6 trip would have been the first by a US secretary of state to China in five years and was seen by both sides as an opportunity to stabilise increasingly fraught ties.
Questions had swirled as to whether Blinken and Wang would use the conference in Munich as a chance to reengage in-person, and the State Department only confirmed the hour-long meeting after it had ended."I told him quite simply that that was unacceptable and can never happen again," Blinken said, referring to the balloon's violation of US air space.
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