‘You Are Helping To Fuel The Biggest Threat’- US Threatens China Over Support To Russia

United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on Friday warned China over its support to supply Russia with weapons used in its ongoing war with Ukraine.

Blinken in Beijing said China was “helping fuel the biggest threat” to European security since the Cold War and Washington will not limit its response without revealing measures to be implemented against its counterparts.

China has accused the US of working to stifle its technological progress and encircle Chinese interests in the Pacific.

In recent days, the US passed a law that would force Chinese-owned TikTok to sell the hugely popular video app or be banned in America – something Blinken earlier revealed had not come up in his meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping.

Blinken visit is the second in 10 months, which forms part of a significant increase in dialogue and diplomacy between these rival powers as they attempt to put relations on an even keel after a period of immense tension last year.

China remains the principal source of fentanyl for the US, which the White House has said is causing a public health crisis across the country.

“We are committed to maintaining and strengthening lines of communication to advance that agenda and again deal responsibly with our differences so we avoid any miscommunications, any misperceptions, any miscalculations,” Blinken said.

Blinken was optimistic that Beijing can play a “constructive” role in the Middle East crisis, pointing towards China using “its relationship with Iran to urge” against further escalation in its confrontation with Israel.

On a positive note, the US diplomat noted that progress had been made in some areas, as he urged Beijing to make efforts to stop supplies of the drug fentanyl reaching the US.

China’s leader, Xi on receiving Blinken in Beijing agreed the two sides had “made some positive progress” since he met his US counterpart, Joe Biden, in November.

He added the countries should “be partners, not rivals”, saying that if the US took “a positive view of China’s development”, relations could “truly stabilise, get better and move forward”.