Beijing rejects "false" US claim that China considering arming Russia in Ukraine war

 

The US on Sunday accused China of considering supplying weapons to Russia in its war against Ukraine, a claim Beijing rejected as "false". The allegations escalated already simmering tensions as the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaches.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS on Sunday that the Asian country may provide "lethal support" to Moscow ranging "from ammunition to the weapons themselves", reiterating warnings about a serious problem in the relationship.

On Monday, however, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin accused Washington of proliferating "false information", urging the US to "stop shifting blame" and "earnestly reflect on its own actions" in relation to the US's endless shipping of "weapons to the battlefield".

Blinken shared similar comments in a number of interviews from Germany, where he attended the annual Munich Security Conference on Saturday and met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

The top Chinese diplomat insisted that Beijing was playing a constructive role, amid concerns that the Asian nation is deepening ties with Russia despite the deadly war.

Blinken, appearing Sunday on ABC, highlighted that US President Joe Biden had warned his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, against supplying weapons to Russia. Since the warning as long ago as March 2022, according to an administration source familiar with the matter, "China has been careful not to cross that line."

Supplying weapons to Russia now would be "dumber than dirt", Lindsey Graham, a top US Republican senator and a well-informed foreign policy hawk, said.

The accusations, denials, and warnings follow US Vice President Kamala Harris's speech on Friday in Munich regarding Russia committing "crimes against humanity" in Ukraine, and precede Biden's surprise Kyiv visit on Monday.

While the US president is expected to speak on Tuesday in the Polish capital of Warsaw to hail NATO's effort to help Ukrainians, his Russian counterpart - Vladimir Putin - will possibly give his own speech in Moscow on the same day.