Setting the scene a few hours before an exchange between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, the United States said on Thursday that China would expose itself to reprisals if it were to “support Russian aggression” against Ukraine. “We are concerned that they plan to directly assist Russia with military equipment that would be used in Ukraine. President Biden will speak to President Xi tomorrow, and make it clear to him that China will bear responsibility for any act to support Russian aggression, and that we will not hesitate to impose costs on it,” the leader said Thursday. of American diplomacy Antony Blinken. “We see with concern that China is considering giving Russia direct military assistance,” he added.
It is the clearest warning issued by the United States to China since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, and it comes a few hours before a conversation between the American and Chinese presidents, scheduled for Friday in 9:00 a.m. Washington time (1:00 p.m. GMT). This meeting, the fourth between the two leaders since Joe Biden is president, aims to “keep the channels of communication open between the United States and the People’s Republic of China”, said in a press release the spokeswoman of the US executive Jen Psaki.