Joe Biden “outlined” to Xi “the implications and consequences if China offers material support to Russia while carrying out brutal attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians.”
US President Joe Biden warned this Friday of the “implications” for China if it offers “material support” to Russia, while his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, asked the US to share responsibilities in the first conversation between the two following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The virtual meeting between the leaders of the two great world powers showed the distance between Washington and Beijing, with two statements with few points in common.
According to the White House note, Biden “described” to Xi “the implications and consequences if China offers material support to Russia while it carries out brutal attacks once morest Ukrainian cities and civilians,” without specifying the potential retaliation.
Likewise, the US president “detailed the efforts of Washington and its allies to prevent and then respond to the invasion (which began on February 24), including the imposition of costs on Russia.”
Next, Biden underlined “his support for a diplomatic resolution of the crisis,” which has already caused more than 3 million refugees who have left Ukraine to escape Russian bombing.
One call, two versions
For its part, the Chinese version of the videoconference, which came out before the American one, indicated that Xi urged both powers to work together.
“As permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and as the two main economies in the world, we must not only advance our relations on the right path, but also share our international responsibility and work for world peace and stability,” according with a transcript from the official Chinese agency.
In this way, Xi stressed to Biden that peace and development face “serious challenges” and the world stage has changed since their last conversation on November 16, 2021.
“The facts show once more that countries should not go to the extreme of meeting on the battlefield. Conflict and confrontation are of no interest to anyone, and what the international community should treasure most is peace and security,” added the Chinese president.
Concern in Washington
Shortly followingward, in a call with reporters to discuss the Biden-Xi meeting, a senior White House official, who requested anonymity, said the nearly two-hour conversation had been “direct, substantive and detailed”.
However, The US official avoided reporting on whether China had given guarantees that it would not offer military or economic assistance to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, something regarding which Washington has expressed growing concern in recent days.
In the background is Russia’s alleged request to China for military help to invade Ukraine, a request published by US media citing officials from that country and which Beijing has described as “completely false” and “pure disinformation”.
At a press conference this Friday, the White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, reiterated that the US maintains that “concern” for which the “surveillance” will continue.
Open communication channels
On Taiwan, a territory over which China claims sovereignty and which is one of the biggest points of friction with Washington, Biden reiterated that US policy on the island “has not changed.” and emphasized that he continues to oppose any unilateral modification of the ‘status quo’”.
Both leaders agreed, however, on the importance of keeping communication channels “open” and continuing talks given the seriousness of the crisis.
Today’s meeting comes less than a week following the one held in Rome between US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and the director of the Office of the Chinese Foreign Affairs Commission, Yang Jiechi.
Since the beginning of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, China has declared its support for the territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, while avoiding condemning Russian actions, which it has avoided defining as “invasion.”
