BEIJING: Beijing on Monday hit back at US claims that China is considering sending weapons to Russia to help in its war in Ukraine.
“It is the United States, not China, that is endlessly sending weapons to the battlefield,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said when asked about the US claims.
“We urge the United States to seriously consider its actions, and to de-escalate the situation, promote peace and dialogue, and stop spreading accusations and disinformation,” he said at a regular briefing. Do a lot.”
“It is clear to the international community who is calling for dialogue and fighting for peace, and who is fueling the fire and encouraging the opposition,” he added.
The statement came as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in an interview with CBS that China was now “considering providing lethal assistance” to Moscow “from ammunition to the weapons themselves”.
He made similar comments in a series of interviews from Germany, where on Saturday he attended the Munich Security Conference and met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Blinken’s allegation comes as relations between China and the United States have further soured following the downing of a Chinese spy balloon earlier this month.
The US has repeatedly warned China that it is against helping Russia in its war in Ukraine, which is about to complete a year.
On Sunday, Blinken said US President Joe Biden warned his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping against sending weapons to Russia, as he did last March.
Since then, “China has been careful not to cross that line, including blocking sales of lethal weapons systems for use on the battlefield,” according to a US administration source familiar with the issue.
In Munich, Blinken and Wang Yi clashed over Washington’s downing of a Chinese balloon over its airspace.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said that during their encounter, Blinken “directly addressed the unacceptable violation of American sovereignty and international law by (China’s) high-altitude surveillance balloon over US territorial airspace.” of.”
Price said he also warned Wang of “the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia or assists in the evasion of systemic sanctions”.
In turn, Wang Yi told Blinken that their countries’ relations had been strained by Washington’s reaction to the balloon, which China has repeatedly described as a civilian craft for weather research. That got out of the way.
Wang Yi “clarified China’s firm position on the so-called plane incident”, and “urged the US side to change course, acknowledge and repair the damage caused by its excessive use of force.” to China-US relations,” state news agency Xinhua reported
Addressing a gathering of world leaders in Munich on Saturday, the diplomat condemned the US response to the balloon as ‘crazy and ridiculous’.
