NEW YORK: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday questioned China\u2019s sincerity in seeking peace in Ukraine as he directly pressed his counterpart over exports that boost Russia\u2019s military.
\nBlinken met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the latest talks as the two powers look to dial down once-soaring tensions.
\nWhile crediting the diplomacy with bringing progress, Blinken warned that the United States would not back down on concerns over China\u2019s exports to Russia and made clear that Washington could impose more sanctions.
\nBlinken said that China is fueling the \u201cwar machine\u201d of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
\n\u201cWhen Beijing says that, on the one hand, that it wants peace, it wants to see an end to the conflict, but on the other hand is allowing its companies to take actions that are actually helping Putin continue the aggression, that doesn\u2019t add up,\u201d Blinken told a news conference.
\n\u201cOur intent is not to decouple Russia from China. Their relationship is their business,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cBut insofar as that relationship involves providing Russia what it needs to continue this war, that\u2019s a problem for us, and it\u2019s a problem for many other countries, notably in Europe,\u201d Blinken added.
\nThe top US diplomat said that China has provided 70 percent of machine tools and 90 percent of microelectronics needed by Russia for military production that includes rockets and armored vehicles.
\nWang told Blinken during the meeting that China\u2019s position on the Ukraine conflict was \u201copen and aboveboard, always advocating for peace and dialogue, and working toward a political solution,\u201d Beijing\u2019s foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
\n\u201cThe US should stop smearing and sanctioning China and refrain from using the issue to create divisions and provoke bloc confrontations,\u201d Wang added.
\nChina says it has not directly provided weapons to Russia and draws a contrast with the United States, which has shipped billions of dollars in weapons to Ukraine since the 2022 invasion by Russia.
\nWang told a Security Council session on Tuesday that China was \u201cnot a creator of the Ukraine crisis, nor are we a party to it. China has all along stood on the side of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a UN address criticized China and Brazil for promoting negotiations to end the war, saying that forcing Ukraine to accept a peace deal was akin to colonialism.
\nThe two countries kept up the drive on Friday, leading a statement with other emerging powers that calls for a \u201ccomprehensive and lasting settlement\u201d through diplomacy.
\nBut in a thinly veiled criticism of Putin\u2019s recent saber-rattling, the emerging powers called on all sides to refrain \u201cfrom the use or the threat of weapons of mass destruction.\u201d
\nSouth Africa and Turkiye were among the powers that also signed the statement.
\nPutin this week threatened to use nuclear weapons in the event of a major attack on Russian soil as Ukraine, looking to hit back against the invasion, seeks Western weapons to strike deeper across the border.<\/p>\n
Since Blinken and Wang last met in July at a regional conference in Laos, China has pleased the United States by releasing an American pastor imprisoned for years, although other Americans are detained.
\nChinese President Xi Jinping, during a summit in November 2023 with counterpart Joe Biden, agreed to key US demands of restoring military communication between the two powers.
\nHe also agreed to take action against producers of ingredients in fentanyl, the painkiller behind an overdose epidemic in the United States.
\nBut a wide range of disagreements remain.
\nBlinken said he warned Wang against Beijing\u2019s \u201cdangerous, destabilizing actions\u201d on the South China Sea, where tensions have risen sharply between China and US ally the Philippines.
\nOn the disputed waterway, Wang urged the US to \u201cstop stirring up trouble…and undermining the efforts of regional countries to maintain peace and stability.\u201d
\nWang also slammed US \u201csuppression\u201d of China\u2019s trade, technology, and economy and told Blinken that Washington should pursue \u201cdialogue with respect.\u201d
\n\u201cSince the US has repeatedly expressed that it does not intend to confront China, it should establish a rational understanding of China at its core, create a proper way of coexistence, (and) engage in dialogue with respect,\u201d Wang told Blinken.
\nThe latest meeting came ahead of the November 5 election in which Republican candidate Donald Trump has vowed to take a harder line on China.
\nBiden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump, have said that they seek dialogue to avoid conflict between the two powers, although their administration has also taken a hard line.
\nBlinken\u2019s deputy, Kurt Campbell, recently told a congressional hearing that China posed a broader challenge to the United States than the Soviet Union did during the Cold War.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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