On Monday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held seven-hour talks in Rome with Yang Jiechi, one of China’s top foreign policy officials. According to the White House, the two officials had a “substantial discussion” on Russia and Ukraine.
In recent years, China and Russia have grown closer together as they both have faced similar pressure from the US and its allies. A Biden administration official told reporters that the US has “deep concerns about China’s alignment with Russia at this time” and said Sullivan warned China of potential “consequences” for certain actions.
“What we have conveyed — and what was conveyed by our national security adviser in this meeting — is that, should they provide military or other assistance that of course violates sanctions or supports the war effort, that there will be significant consequences,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
Psaki wouldn’t elaborate on what sort of “consequences” China could suffer if it helps Russia. The Sullivan-Yang talks came after US media reports said Russia was seeking military equipment from China, which both Beijing and Moscow denied.
For their part, China is warning against unsubstantiated rumors about Beijing’s stance on the fighting in Ukraine. “Yang Jiechi stressed that China firmly opposes any words or deeds that spread false information, distort or smear China’s position,” a Chinese media report said about the meeting, according to The South China Morning Post.
The Chinese report said Yang told Sullivan that the war in Ukraine has “reached a point” China did not want to see. “China is committed to promoting peace talks, and the international community should jointly support the Russia-Ukraine peace talks, achieve substantive results as soon as possible, and promote the cooling of the situation as soon as possible,” the report said.
See Global Times for in-depth information. China is mighty offendecd by the tone. Does not look like seven hours of talks produced anything, ax it looks like US wanted China to solve problem US created in Ukraine. And aposrently are hoping that US does not ness up relationship with China as it did with Russia. And no, China will not solve the problem for US.
“Let the one who tied the bell around tiger’s neck go and untie it.”
Bianca is right. South China Morning Post does not reflect the Chinese government. Global Times does. Mercouris has been reading their editorials for months now. On Ukraine, China supports Russia, if relatively quietly due to complications over Taiwan.
China is the net exporter. It holds the whip hand.
Really hope China doesn’t commit harakiri by abandoning Russia after it’s misstep. Xi is important for China but putin is essential for Russia. If putin fails us will engineer a coup and install a puppet and not only start looting Russia but they will turn to crush China. China has to support Russia if it wants to keep it’s forward trajectory and accept some short term economic pain.
After whose misstep?
China-Russia management of this European war. is not an adhockery. It may be natural for us to think that humans outside of Western world are not capable of higher order thinking — but I am sure that Russian Ukrainian operation was carefully prepared, and that more countries not just Chins were consulted.
We may not pay attention to SCO, but there is a reason for the organization existence and the long list of applicants.
Just in the last round it admitted Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Much is amiss in our foreign policy grasp of the reality. Any anateur with sufficient understanding of history and geography and the analitical dispisition, will be in a better possesion of knowledge than our officials.
Guided by desires not realities, they are unable to reconcile what is hapoening.
For the first time their best layed plans did not result in a grumble of impotent wold, but a pushback by a nuclear power backed by three other nuclear powers: China, Pakistan and India.
Does not sound right? If and when push comes to shove — they will be there.
Let us see what Blinken and Co come up with. A false flag is something just up their alley to push the troublesome UN hearings on 30 labs in Ukraine. All with a nice bio presents carried by migratory birds. This one must be shut down somehow.
Sullivan is btw the devil and the deep blue. He can’t abandon the cardinal Neocon article of hegemony. And the hammer is the only tool he has in his kit. So all boy Jake can hope to do is postpone China until Russia is done.
Xi knows this as well and may be willing to temporize US-China confrontation until the dust settles in Ukraine and the US/NATO has fractured itself militarily and economically, and risking that the US won’t annihilate the species. The while fully supporting Russia.
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive…”
Sir Walter Scott
The entire situation seems filled with subterfuge…
If China is promoting peace talks then it’s already doing more than the US is doing to end the war.