China Rejects US Claim That It’s Considering Arming Russia

The US ambassador to the UN warned China that arming Russia would cross a 'red line'

China on Monday rejected a claim from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Beijing was considering providing Russia with weapons to use in its war in Ukraine.

“It is the US, not China, that has been pouring weapons into the battlefield. The US is in no position to tell China what to do. We would never stand for finger-pointing, or even coercion and pressurizing from the US on our relations with Russia,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.

Blinken claimed the US had information that China was “considering providing lethal support” to Russia but offered no evidence to back up the assertion. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said Sunday that if China provides Russia with weapons, it will cross a “red line.”

China has been increasing economic and military ties with Russia but so far has shown no interest in providing weapons to aid in Moscow’s war, and Chinese officials have repeatedly called for peace talks. “China will continue to stay firm on the side of peace and dialogue and play a constructive part in easing the situation,” Wang said.

The US has been making claims about China and Russia’s relationship throughout the current conflict in Ukraine. In the early days of the war, US officials claimed that Russia asked China to provide military assistance. But NBC News reported in April 2022 that the claim lacked “hard evidence” and was part of an information war against Russia.

The NBC report said that other unsubstantiated claims made about Russia at the time were part of a US information war against Russia. Washington was making information public even when they didn’t have evidence to back up the claims, including allegations that Russia was planning to use chemical weapons.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.