On the 18th, U.S. President Joe Biden warned the People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping about the consequences if China provides material support for Russia during the attack against Ukraine. The two sides discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for about two hours. Taken together, it seems that the two leaders repeated their existing positions rather than reaching a meaningful approach and generally parallelized.
The White House said that the U.S. President “described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians.” President Biden’s “material support” for Russia, appears to include military aid and combat food that Russia requested from China, which responded positively. China also announced its willingness to help Russia with financial sanctions. Secretary of State Tony Blinkan said the previous day, “We’re concerned that they’re considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine.”
The U.S. is wary of the possibility that Russia’s largest export partner, China, will act as a buffer in the face of strong financial sanctions and export controls against Russia. Thus, the U.S. administration has warned that it will impose sanctions on China if it provides Russia with banned items containing U.S. technology and parts. It can be said that the U.S. intention checking on China is considering the effects of sanctions on Russia, the direction of the war, and preventing China and Russia from confronting the U.S. together.
On March 18th, White House spokesman Jen Psaki said in a briefing, “the President will attend an extraordinary NATO summit to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine.” By discussing how to deal with China with European allies the U.S. is raising pressure on China. And while the war in Ukraine sends ripples of unfortunate news every day, countries around the world are in their worst conflict with heightened tensions.
By. Seo Yoon Jung
Works Cited
NBCNews, director. YouTube, YouTube, 17 Mar. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLIGIjzOwiU. Accessed 20 Mar. 2022. “Readout of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.. Call with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China.” The White House, The United States Government, 18 Mar. 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/03/18/readout-of-president-joseph-r-biden-jr-call-with-president-xi-jinping-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china-2/.
“Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, March 18, 2022.” The White House, The United States Government, 19 Mar. 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2022/03/18/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-march-18-2022/.