The Chinese state media report did not provide any further details about Monday’s meeting, including the exact time, what was discussed and whether the meeting ended.
Experts say the meeting between senior US and Chinese officials could have far-reaching implications not only for the ongoing war in Ukraine, but also for China’s role in the world and its relationship with the West. The meeting has also taken on added urgency as fears grow in the West that Beijing is not only siding with Russia by failing to condemn its aggression in Ukraine, but may be taking further steps to help its strategic partner. A senior US official told CNN on Sunday that Moscow has asked Beijing for military assistance to Ukraine, including drones. Such assistance, while providing a significant boost to Russia, would represent a huge risk for China, which has so far sought to pose as a neutral participant in the conflict.
China denies that Russia asked it for military equipment or other assistance to support the war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday also denied accusations that Russia had asked China for military assistance to Ukraine.
Pointing to reports that Russia has turned to China for military assistance, Richard N. Haas, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said such a choice would be “a defining moment” for China and the 21st century.
“To do this (provide support) means that China will open itself to significant sanctions and make itself a pariah; a refusal would leave open the possibility of at least selective cooperation with the US and the West,” Haas tweeted.
Russia has also turned to China for economic support, according to a US official familiar with the matter. That request and the request for military support came after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took place, said the official, who declined to detail China’s reaction but indicated that Beijing had responded.
Sullivan told Dana Bash on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that the US is “watching closely” to see if China is giving any support to Russia.
“This is our concern. And we have told Beijing that we will not stand by and allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses from economic sanctions,” Sullivan said.
The potential economic risk of backing Russia is unlikely to be overlooked by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is widely expected to win a historic third term in office during the 20th Communist Party Congress in Beijing this fall.
During such an important year, the Chinese government will be wary of getting entangled in Western sanctions that could hit its economy, while Beijing has already set the lowest official economic growth target in three decades.
A group of prominent China experts in the US on Friday urged Washington to keep the door open for diplomacy with China and “impress Beijing that its long-term interests would not be best served by tying itself to a pariah” such as Russia. condemned by much of the Western world.
“Using diplomatic contacts with Beijing… the US can lay the groundwork for more effective pressure on China if Xi is more open in supporting [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s brutal aggression,” wrote a group created by the Asia Society Center for US-China Relations and the 21st Century China Center at the University of California San Diego.
Asked if Russia had asked China for military assistance, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Monday called the US claims “disinformation” against China “with sinister intent.”
“China’s position on the Ukrainian issue is consistent and clear, and we are playing a constructive role in advancing the peace talks. It is imperative that all parties show restraint and reduce tensions rather than add fuel to the fire; it is important to insist on a diplomatic solution rather than further escalation of the situation,” Zhao said at a regular press briefing.
key meeting
Monday’s meeting between Yang and Sullivan is seen by both sides as a continuation of the move towards better communication outlined by Xi and US President Joe Biden at their summit late last year.
The parties will discuss “ongoing efforts to manage competition between our two countries” as well as “the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security,” US National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said Sunday.
Zhao, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, did not mention Russia or Ukraine in a meeting statement posted online on Sunday, but noted that the two sides “will exchange views on Sino-US relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest.”
The “key issue” of the meeting will be the implementation of the “important consensus” reached by Xi and Biden at their virtual summit, Zhao said, adding that the two sides have been coordinating the meeting since late last year.
Sullivan and Yang, who is director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, last met in Zurich in October at a meeting leading up to the Xi-Biden video summit.
This summit was widely seen as an attempt to change the tone of relations between the two world powers and was an opportunity for both sides to express their interest in strengthening communication in order to better manage a relationship that has been riddled with tensions over trade, technology, and China’s human rights record.
But roughly four months later, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become a key international issue, strengthening coordination and solidarity between the US and its allies, and drawing attention to China’s diverging approach.
China has sought to pose as neutral, often emphasizing that “the legitimate security interests of all countries” should be taken into account, but its decision to disagree with a range of US and allied sanctions against Russia, and their increased disinformation of Russia, risk further disagreement with the West.
This story has been supplemented with additional events.
CNN’s Sam Fossum, Caitlan Collins, Jim Sciutto and Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.