President Biden will discuss the war in Ukraine with Chinese premier Xi Jinping by phone on Friday in what will be their first conversation in months, the White House announced.
“This is part of our ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication between the United States and the PRC,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki. “The two Leaders will discuss managing the competition between our two countries as well as Russia’s war against Ukraine and other issues of mutual concern.”
The call comes amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as reports that Russia requested military aid from China. China indicated it could help Russia with military aid and some financial backing to ease the effect of American and European economic sanctions, two administration officials told the Associated Press on Monday.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan raised the issue during a meeting with Yang Jiechi, a senior foreign policy adviser to the Chinese government.
“The national security adviser and our delegation raised directly and very clearly our concerns about the PRC’s support to Russia in the wake of the invasion, and the implications that any such support would have for the PRC’s relationship not only with us, but for its relationships around the world,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian denied that Russia requested aid from China on Monday. The Kremlin also denied the claim.
“The U.S. has been spreading false information against China on the Ukraine issue with sinister motives,” Zhao said at a press briefing.
The Biden administration shared intelligence on Russian troop buildups on Ukraine’s border in the month’s before the invasion, the New York Times reported in February.
While the administration tried to convince Chinese officials to pressure Russia not to invade, those officials said they didn’t believe an invasion was being planned. China proceeded to notify Russia that the U.S. was in communication regarding its troop movements, and that China would not try to halt Russia’s plans.
China also refused at the outset of the war to label Russia’s attack on Ukraine an “invasion,” instead calling for restraint to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control.
After Visa and Mastercard cut Russia off from its services in response to the invasion, three major Russian banks announced that they would they would begin using the Chinese UnionPay system.
Source: National Review
