Blinken warns China’s Wang Yi on aiding Russia in Ukraine

US secretary of state Antony Blinken warned Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Saturday of consequences should Beijing provide material support to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a “candid” conversation on the sidelines of a global security conference, US officials said.

The top diplomats of the two superpowers met at an undisclosed location in Munich, with the state department confirming the meeting, which lasted about an hour, only after it had taken place.

Relations between the two countries have been fraught since Washington said China flew a spy balloon over the continental US before American fighter jets shot it down on President Joe Biden’s orders. The dispute also came at a time when the West is closely watching Beijing’s response to the Ukraine war.

Speaking to reporters in a briefing call, a senior state department official said China was trying to “have it both ways” by saying it wants to contribute to peace and stability but at the same time taking “concerning” steps to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

"[The] secretary was quite blunt in warning about the implications and consequences of China providing material support to Russia or assisting Russia with systematic sanctions evasion,” the senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In an interview with NBC News, Blinken said Washington has information that China might provide lethal war assistance to Russia.

The West has been wary of China’s response to the Ukraine war, with some warning that a Russian victory would colour China’s actions towards Taiwan. China has refrained from condemning the war or calling it an “invasion”.

Earlier, speaking at a panel at the conference, Wang reiterated a call for dialogue and suggested European countries “think calmly” about how to end the war.

He also said there were “some forces that seemingly don’t want negotiations to succeed, or for the war to end soon”, without saying to whom he was referring.

Blinken and Wang’s meeting came hours after the top Chinese diplomat took a swipe at the US, accusing it of violating international norms with “hysterical” behaviour by shooting down the balloon.

The balloon’s flight this month over US territory triggered an uproar in Washington and prompted Blinken to postpone a planned visit to Beijing. That February 5-6 trip would have been the first by a US secretary of state to China in five years and was seen by both sides as an opportunity to stabilise increasingly fraught ties.

“To have dispatched an advanced fighter jet to shoot down a balloon with a missile, such behaviour is unbelievable, almost hysterical,” Wang said on Saturday.

“There are so many balloons all over the world, and various countries have them, so is the US going to shoot all of them down?” he said.

In the interview with NBC, Blinken said that during their meeting Wang did not apologise for the balloon’s flight through US airspace.

Blinken was “very direct and candid” throughout the meeting and repeatedly underscored to Wang that the violation of US sovereignty caused by Beijing’s spy balloon must never happen again, the senior state department official said.

Washington had been hoping to put a “floor” under relations that hit a dangerous low in August with China’s reaction to a Taiwan visit by then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi.

China reacted angrily when the US military shot down the 60m balloon on February 4, saying it was for monitoring weather conditions and had blown off course. But Washington said it clearly was a surveillance balloon with a huge undercarriage holding electronics.

Reuters