The United States has recently begun to see “disturbing” trendlines in China’s support for the Russian military and there are signs that Beijing wants to “creep to the border” to provide deadly military aid to Russia without getting caught, they said. U.S. officials familiar with intelligence. CNN.
The officials would not detail what intelligence the United States has seen that points to a recent shift in China’s attitude, but said US officials were so concerned that they have been sharing the intelligence with allies and partners at the Security Conference in recent days. in Munich. .
State Secretary Antony Blinken raised the issue when he met his Chinese counterpartWang Yi, on the sidelines of the conference on Saturday, officials said.
Vice President Kamala Harris also alluded to China’s support for Russia during a speech in Munich.
“We are also disturbed that Beijing has deepened its relationship with Moscow since the start of the war,” Harris said on Saturday. “Looking forward, any moves by China to provide deadly support to Russia would only reward aggression, continue the killing and further undermine a rules-based order.”
Officials said the United States sees China trying to present itself publicly as a supporter of peace — Wang Yi said in Munich on Saturday that Beijing would introduce a “peace plan” for Ukraine and Russia — and maintain relations with Europe, while at the same time quietly aiding Russia’s war effort and considering deadly aid.
At the conference on Saturday, Wang Yi said: “This war cannot continue to rage. We need to think about what efforts we can make to end this warfare.”
As CNN reported, last month the Biden administration raised concerns with China over evidence that it has suggested Chinese companies have sold non-lethal equipment to Russia for use in Ukraine in an effort to ascertain how much Beijing knows about the transactions, according to CNN. two US officials.
That equipment included items such as body armor and helmets, multiple sources familiar with US and European intelligence agencies told CNN. But China has cut back on the more robust military aid, such as deadly weapon systems for battlefield use in Ukraine, that Russia has been asking for because it didn’t want to be seen as an outcast on the world stage, officials said.
But there are signs that Beijing could now consider it, the officials said, and Biden administration officials are warning publicly and privately that the United States is closely monitoring violations of Western sanctions that prohibit military aid to Russia.
China and Russia publicly declared a “friendship without borders” just before Russia invaded Ukraine last year, and Wang Yi will visit Russia this month, CNN reports.
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