China has renewed its pledge not to supply Russia with weapons for use in the war against Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Beijing on Monday.
“We and other countries have received assurances from China that it will not provide lethal aid to Russia for use in Ukraine,” Blinken told reporters at the end of two days of talks in the Chinese capital.
Blinken said the United States has no evidence to contradict China’s commitment not to supply Russia with weapons.
“However, what continues to worry us is the possibility of Chinese companies supplying technology to Russia that it could use to continue its aggression in Ukraine,” he said.
“We ask the Chinese government to be very vigilant on this issue,” said the chief of US diplomacy.
Blinken also said Beijing’s promises had been fulfilled “in recent weeks” and not just during his visit.
In recent months, Washington has publicly expressed concern over the possibility of China supplying Russia with weapons to aid it in the war in Ukraine.
China claims to be neutral in the conflict and has defended respect for the sovereignty of states, including Ukraine, but has never publicly condemned the invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022.
Blinken’s visit to China was the first visit by a US Secretary of State since Mike Pompeo’s visit in October 2018.
Blinken also became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
The US reiterates that it does not support Taiwan independence
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated on Monday that the US does not support Taiwan’s independence, but assured it will keep its promise to defend that territory against any threat from China.
“We continue to oppose any unilateral change of the ‘status quo’ by either side. And we continue to strive for a peaceful resolution of our differences,” the US chief of diplomacy said, referring to the case of Taiwan, in the second and last day of his visit to Beijing, when he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
However, Blinken added that the The United States continues to abide by its responsibilities under the Taiwan Relations Act, including a duty to ensure that the island “has the capacity to defend itself.”
On Sunday, Chinese diplomacy had left the message that the Taiwan issue poses “the greatest threat” to the good relationship between the two powers.
“The Taiwan issue is the fundamental issue of China’s best interests, the most important issue in China-US relations and the greatest danger,” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told his US counterpart at a meeting.
In recent weeks, China has intensified its calls for the United States not to interfere with the ambition to return Taiwan’s territory to Beijing’s sovereignty, and reiterated its willingness to achieve this goal by peaceful means or, if necessary, to be reached by force.
China’s head of diplomacy also admitted that relations between the two countries are “at their lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations, recognizing that the situation does not correspond to the “fundamental interests of the two peoples”.
During their bilateral meetings, Blinken discussed other points of contention between the two countries besides the Taiwan issue, including the relationship with North Korea, Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea, the strategy of electronic chips or the commercialization of fentanyl. a powerful opioid pain reliever.
“We also discussed human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet, trade disputes and the illegal detention of US citizens,” Blinken added.
At the end of Monday’s meeting with Xi Jinping, the head of US diplomacy acknowledged the relevance of discussing all of these issues, but admitted that not all issues will be resolved with his visit to Beijing.
“This visit will not immediately resolve all issues or disagreements between us. But we both agree that it is essential to properly manage our relationship,” said the US Secretary of State.
Source: DN
