Photo released by the White House of US President Joe Biden during a video chat with Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 18, 2022 in Washington (White House / – )
A long-awaited exchange that barely changed lines: Joe Biden warned Xi Jinping on Friday about the “consequences” for China of Russian aid, while the Chinese president cultivated ambiguity, limiting himself to military conflicts being “in no one’s interest.” “.
The US president “outlined the consequences and consequences if China provides material support to Russia in its brutal attack on Ukrainian cities and civilians” in a nearly two-hour video call focusing mainly on the war in Ukraine, the White House said. in a short statement.
If he did not specify what kind of repression China would face if it provided assistance to Russia, then Joe Biden, on the other hand, “detailed” the tough economic and financial sanctions already imposed by the West on the regime of Vladimir Putin, according to the American presidency.
A senior US official said the President of the United States was “frank and direct” with his counterpart, a diplomatic way of saying the exchange was probably not overly warm.
While the White House’s announcement was delayed nearly four hours after the end of the interview, China quickly recounted its version of the conversation around the “crisis” or “situation” in Ukraine, never once mentioning “war.”
“The Ukrainian crisis is not what we would like to see,” the Chinese head of state said, according to comments broadcast by Chinese television while the exchange was still underway.
According to the same source, he urged his colleague to “work with him for peace and tranquility throughout the world.”
While the United States is urging China to distance itself from Russia, Beijing’s official statements during and after the exchanges between heads of state remain somewhat ambiguous.
– “Dialog” –
China is calling on the US and NATO to engage in a “dialogue” with Russia over “security concerns” in Moscow and Kyiv, according to a Foreign Ministry press release following the exchange.
It’s a topic dear to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, he says, justifies the invasion of Ukraine by the need to protect his country from the expansionist aspirations of the Western military alliance.
The same press release from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also vaguely called for “big countries” to “respect each other.” And he also warns in very general terms against any form of “broad and indiscriminate sanctions” that could “damage an already struggling global economy and cause irreparable damage.”
So during this conversation that Joe Biden had from the Situation Room, that ultra-secure White House room, the lines didn’t really move from where the United States is conducting its riskiest operations and toughest negotiations.
“Now we will consider the actions (of China), – said the official representative of the executive branch of the United States Jen Psaki.
For Joe Biden, the two superpowers are certainly doomed to ruthless competition at the economic and strategic level, provided enough dialogue is maintained so that this confrontation does not become a factor of chaos on the international level.
But such a vision of the American president will not resist China’s open support for Russia, manifested in arms transfers or economic and financial agreements that give Moscow the opportunity to at least partially circumvent very strict Western sanctions.
Xi Jinping also took to the call to issue a warning to his colleague, saying that “the wrong solution to the Taiwan issue will have a negative impact on bilateral relations.”
Joe Biden “reiterated that US policy on Taiwan has not changed” and “insisted that the United States continues to oppose any unilateral change to the status quo.”
China claims the island. The United States undertakes to recognize only one China, while supplying Taiwan with weapons for its self-defense.