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White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confronted his Chinese counterpart face-to-face Monday about the communist world power supporting Russia militarily and economically in its attack on Ukraine.
Sullivan huddled with China’s top foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi in Rome as reports broke that Moscow had reached out to China because it’s running out of military supplies as its invasion of Ukraine nears the third week and amid fierce opposition from Ukrainian troops.
Two administration officials told the Associated Press that the U.S. had determined that China signaled to Russia it would be willing to provide both military support for the campaign in Ukraine and financial backing to help stave off the impact of severe sanctions imposed by the West. The officials said that assessment had been relayed to Western and Asian allies and partners earlier Monday.
“Moscow has received a positive response from Beijing,” said one official, describing a diplomatic cable sent to U.S. embassies asking for them to inform their host governments of the information. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive information.
Sullivan made clear during an “intense” seven-hour meeting with Yang that the Biden administration has deep concerns about China’s alignment with Russia at this time, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
Psaki declined to comment on whether the U.S. believes China has already provided the Russians with military, economic or other assistance.
The Sullivan-Yang meeting followed up on the Nov. 15, 2021, virtual meeting between President Biden and President Xi.
“Mr. Sullivan raised a range of issues in U.S.-China relations, with substantial discussion of Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement.
Get the latest updates in the Russia-Ukraine conflict with The Post’s live coverage.
State Department spokesman Ned Price confirmed that Sullivan confronted Yang about the reports.
”The national security adviser and our delegation raised directly and very clearly our concerns about the PRC’s support to Russia in the wake of the invasion, and the implications that any such support would have for the PRCs relationship not only with us, but for its relationships around the world – that includes our allies and partners in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific,” Price said, referring to China by its official name the People’s Republic of China.
In an interview Sunday, Sullivan said the US has communicated to China that “there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale sanctions, evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill them.”
“We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country, anywhere in the world,” Sullivan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the accusations.
“No, Russia has its own potential to continue the operation, which, as we have said, is unfolding in accordance with the plan and will be completed on time and in full,” Peskov said.
China also dismissed the reports, calling them disinformation.
“What is pressing now is that all parties should exercise restraint and strive to cool down the situation, rather than fueling the tension,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters. “We should promote diplomatic settlements instead of further escalating the situation.”
The Communist-ruled country is caught between any alliance with Russia and the realities of losing critical trading partners in the US and Europe.
The Biden administration is also accusing China of spreading Russian disinformation that could be a pretext for Putin’s forces to attack Ukraine with chemical or biological weapons. Biden officials say Beijing is spreading false Russian claims that Ukraine was running chemical and biological weapons labs with U.S. support. They say China is effectively providing cover if Russia moves ahead with a biological or chemical weapons attack on Ukrainians.
When Russia starts accusing other countries of preparing to launch biological or chemical attacks, Sullivan said Sunday, “it’s a good tell that they may be on the cusp of doing it themselves.”
Price called on China, instead of assisting Russia, to join with the global community and pressure Moscow to agree to a cease-fire and end its attack on neighboring Ukraine.
“It is fair to say that it is incumbent upon every country around the world to speak out clearly, to allow there to be no ambiguity in terms of where they stand,” he said.
”We’ve heard statements from the PRC that have somewhat of an ambivalent message, calling for a diplomatic solution. I read a statement the other day from a PRC official calling the situation complicated. There’s nothing complicated about this. This is naked aggression. This is a war of choice,” Price said.
The relationship between China and Russia, he said, has been growing warmer over the past few years, and their “vision of the world is in stark contrast to the vision that the United States and our allies and partners have not only built and promoted but the system that itself has advantaged countries like the PRC and Russia.”
Xi hosted Putin in Beijing before the Winter Olympics Games in February as Russia was amassing thousands of troops and materiel along Ukraine’s border, and the two leaders later released a statement touting their “friendship” and agreeing to cooperate against the West.
China also abstained from a vote in the United Nations Security Council on Feb. 25 condemning Moscow for the invasion and has been reluctant to criticize Putin.
Price noted that the two countries have rejected the “rules-based order” of governing.
“This is very clearly a case of two autocracies with a desire to see a world that is more closed, that is less open, that is less free, come together in some ways, joining forces, and we’re watching very closely to determine the form that any such cooperation may take,” Price said.
–with Post wires
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