The Security Conference in Munich ended at midday on Sunday against the backdrop of the war between Russia and Ukraine. This conflict was one of the main themes discussed during this meeting, as were the tensions between China and the United States. On the CBS channel, the American Antony Blinken returned to his meeting with the Chinese Wang Yi.
It was their first encounter since the United States shot down a Chinese balloon flying over their territory. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saw Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Saturday evening before heading to Turkey bereaved by the earthquakes.
” A frank and direct exchange is how the United States described the meeting between the two heads of diplomacy. After the affair of the Chinese balloon in the American sky, Beijing accused Washington of having resorted to ” force without discrimination “, And ” the United States will have to repair the damage done to the Sino-American relationship Beijing said.
►Also read: After the ball affair, the United States and China renew contact in Munich
Relations have been strained since the ball incident. But this is not the only subject of friction between Washington and Beijing. The Secretary of State also said he feared that China would agree to sell arms to Russia, which is engaged in its war against Ukraine. This was stated by Mr. Blinken to the American television channel CBS, this Sunday.
Just weeks into the war, President Biden expressed to President Xi our grave concern that China could offer lethal support to Russia and assist in the systematic evasion of sanctions. And the reason for this concern is that just weeks before the attack, President Xi and President Putin met and talked about an “unlimited” partnership. And we were worried that among the lack of limits, there might be Chinese support for Russia in this war. We have watched this very closely. And we see that today Chinese companies – and of course in China there is no distinction between private companies and the state – are providing non-lethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine. The concern we have now is, based on information we have, that they are planning to provide lethal support. And we made it clear to them that this would pose a serious problem for us and our relationship. There is a whole range that falls into this category, from ammunition to the weapons themselves.
On CBS, Antony Blinken expresses concern that China plans to deliver weapons to Russia
The Ukrainian conflict was discussed a lot during this Munich conference. Most speakers pleaded for more military aid to Kyiv. The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell even gave his support to an Estonian proposal for joint purchase of ammunition by the European Union.
►Read also: Munich Conference: arms deliveries to Ukraine, from incantation to action?