China is saying now that it is not sending Russia aid after reports came out earlier this week that they had agreed to do so:
FOX NEWS – China asserted Tuesday that it was completely “impartial” over the conflict in Ukraine and dismissed so-called “disinformation” from the U.S. government, suggesting that China agreed to send military equipment to Russian troops.
China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian – who hasn’t openly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching an invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago and has called the conflict the “Ukraine issue” instead of war – made the remarks to reporters during his daily press conference.
“China’s position and statement on the Ukraine issue is completely objective, impartial and constructive,” Zhao said, according to a translation by The Associated Press. “We have a clear goal, that is to promote the de-escalation of the situation and end the conflict as soon as possible.”
According to the transcript of his remarks shared to the Chinese foreign affairs website, Zhao said, “China’s position and statement on the Ukraine issue is completely objective, just and constructive. We have a clear goal, that is, to deescalate the situation and put an end to the conflict as soon as possible. We believe China’s position will receive understanding and support from more and more countries.”
Though the two translations differed slightly, the message was the same. Zhao criticized the U.S. by nodding to China’s contention that Russia was provoked by NATO’s expansion and threats to its security.
“What the U.S. should do is to deeply reflect on the role it has played in the development and evolving of the Ukraine crisis, and do something practical to ease the tension in Ukraine,” he said.
Zhao’s comments came a day after U.S. adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi met in Rome over the Biden administration’s increasingly concerns that China is using the Ukraine war to advance Beijing’s long-term interest in its competition with the United States.
I hope this is true, but I certainly wouldn’t take China’s word for this. After all, Russia kept claiming it wasn’t going to invade and then it did.
Hopefully Team Biden won’t be naive on this….