US-China Exchanging Blows: China’s Support for Russia Must Not Be Allowed

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with top Chinese official Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, in Munich, Germany, at a conference.

Blinken pointed out to Wang that there has been information indicating that China is considering supporting Russia, which is invading Ukraine, with various types of “lethal material support,” including deadly weapons.

Moreover, he warned that if China provides material support and helps Russia to evade sanctions, there will be “serious consequences.”

China must not break international law and be complicit in Russia’s trampling of Ukraine’s sovereignty. Together with the U.S., the international community must stop China from supporting Russia.

It will soon be one year since Russia invaded Ukraine.* There is concern that Russia and China are becoming close. At the security conference in Munich, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris expressed concern that “Beijing has deepened its relationship with Moscow” since the beginning of the invasion, displaying a sense of caution.

At the conference, Wang claimed that “peace and dialogue” must not be abandoned, as China claims that “unilateral sanctions” are unproductive and “only create new problems.” Russia would benefit if sanctions are denied.

At the G7 summit, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi, in his role as the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting host, reaffirmed his support for Ukraine and continued sanctions against Russia. China and Russia must not be allowed to grow closer.

The top U.S. and Chinese diplomats also responded to China’s use of spy balloons. In response to Blinken’s criticism that the balloons infringed on sovereignty, Wang retorted that the balloon was for civilian use and that the U.S.’s military response was an “abuse of force” in violation of international treaties.

But the U.S. retrieved the wreckage of a Chinese spy balloon that it shot down and discovered electronic equipment that was seemingly used for intercepting signals. The U.S. government has criticized China for flying a fleet of spy balloons directed by the People’s Liberation Army in the airspace of 40 countries on five continents.

Reconnaissance activity such as launching spy balloons into foreign territories without getting permission from other countries violates international law. China’s conduct of trampling on the basis of international relationships including respect for foreign sovereignty and territory cannot be approved. It is disgraceful of China’s top diplomat to become defiant without even apologizing.

In a speech at a security conference, Wang emphasized that China will “unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development.” But China’s position against sanctions toward Russia and its release of spy balloons indicate a discrepancy between its words and its actions. China should understand that its positive-sounding story about inviting Western investment, while it throws the international order into disarray, will not be accepted.

*Editor’s Note: The one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was Feb. 24, 2023.