US Secretary of State Blinken said on Sunday that China is considering supporting Russia with ammunition and weapons. Beijing is now denying that. On the contrary, it is "the United States and not China that constantly sends weapons onto the battlefield."
China has sharply rejected statements by the US about possible arms deliveries from Beijing to Russia. Washington is spreading "misinformation," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. Beijing will not accept "any pointers from the United States to Sino-Russian relations." US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday Washington was concerned that China was considering "providing lethal support" to Moscow in the Ukraine war.
It is "the United States and not China that constantly sends weapons onto the battlefield," Wang said. He added: "We call on the United States to seriously consider its own actions and to do more to defuse the situation, promote peace and dialogue, and stop spreading blame and misinformation." China is trying to "promote peace and support dialogue" in the Ukraine conflict.
China is Russia's most important remaining partner, which has been largely isolated internationally since the Russian invasion of Ukraine around a year ago. On Saturday, the highest-ranking Chinese diplomat, Wang Yi, announced a Chinese peace initiative for the Ukraine war at the Munich Security Conference, without giving any details.
Tensions between China and the United States have increased significantly in recent years. Among other things, it deals with the conflict over Taiwan, the situation in Hong Kong, human rights and trade issues. Most recently, the days-long flight of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over several US nuclear weapons bases led to a scandal between Washington and Beijing. US Secretary of State Blinken then canceled a planned trip to China, which should have been the first visit to China by a US chief diplomat.
In the past few months, however, there had also been signs of relaxation. US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met last November on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia.
