Xi Jinping with Vladimir Putin
The US cautioned Tuesday that it will hold China accountable if Moscow gains ground in Ukraine after Beijing repeated pledges of cooperation during a visit by Russia’s top diplomat.
Kurt Campbell, the deputy secretary of state in charge of US strategy towards Asia, stated that sustaining peace and stability in Europe is our most important mission historically.
With Moscow continuing its Ukraine attack and the US Congress deadlocked on approving more weaponry for Ukraine, Campbell warned that Russian ground gains might alter the balance of power in Europe in ways that are, frankly, unacceptable.
“We have informed China clearly that if this continues, it will have an impact on the US-China relationship. We will not sit by and say everything is fine”, Campbell noted.
“We will see this not as just a Russian unique set of activities but a conjoined set of activities backed by China but also North Korea. This is antithetical to our interests”, Campbell told the National Committee on US-China Relations, an educational group.
Campbell was replying to a question about Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to China on Tuesday, during which President Xi Jinping informed him that Beijing was ready to strengthen coordination.
Campbell claimed that President Joe Biden’s administration had informed Chinese officials in advance of intelligence showing that Russian President Vladimir Putin would initiate an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Campbell went on to say, “I’m not sure they completely believed us or thought that maybe it would be a smaller thing, not an all-out move and push”.
Campbell stated that China was disturbed by Russia’s early failures and moved to rebuild a whole variety of capacities for Moscow.
“Initially, that was a defensive endeavor. They did not want to see regime change”, Campbell explained.
“However, more than two years later, Russia has almost completely retooled, and they now pose a significant threat going forward to Ukraine (and) to the surrounding region”, Campbell continued.
The US has consistently warned of sanctions if China takes more concrete steps to back Russia.
According to US authorities, Russia is increasingly using armaments from North Korea and Iran, both of which are under significant sanctions, to fuel its war in Ukraine.
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