The head of the US intelligence service clarified in an interview with CBS on Sunday that he had no evidence that Beijing had made a decision.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 27/02/2023 at 06:45, updated 27/02/2023 at 07:25
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William Burns on February 2, 2023 in Washington. ALEX WONG / AFP
The United States is “convinced” China is considering supplying arms to Russia in its war in Ukraine, even as it says no decision has been made, and is increasing pressure on Beijing by warning it not this red line To exceed.
“We are convinced that the Chinese leadership is considering supplying lethal material to Russia,” CIA chief William Burns said in a rare interview with CBS that aired Sunday. But, added the director of American intelligence, “we did not see that a final decision was made” and “we did not see any evidence that they supplied weapons to Russia”.
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Prowler Drone Factory
The United States has been embroiled in a major diplomatic offensive for the past week, warning China of deadly military support for Russia, which experts say would mark a turn in the conflict, which has entered its second year with no settlement in sight. Beijing has firmly denied these allegations.
According to press reports, including those from the Wall Street Journal and the NBC channel, citing unidentified officials, it would be up to China to provide drones and ammunition in particular. A Chinese company is considering starting production of “graze” drones for the Russian military, which could potentially be used in hitting targets in Ukraine, German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Friday.
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The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, voiced these fears directly to China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, during a tense meeting in Munich last Saturday on the sidelines of a security conference. The latter was received at the Kremlin in the middle of last week, a meeting that underscores the privileged relationship between Moscow and its Chinese ally. According to Washington, China is already supplying non-lethal material to Russia via Chinese companies.
To make the point even clearer, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan toured television screens on Sunday to reassure that the United States remains “vigilant” in this regard. He reiterated Washington’s warning to Beijing about the “consequences” of such an arms shipment. “We will continue to send a firm message that sending military aid to Russia at this time would be a huge mistake and China should not participate,” he said on CNN.
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“It’s not a threat”
According to him, the war in Ukraine poses “serious complications” for the Chinese, but if Beijing decides to take the plunge and ship arms to Moscow, there would be “real costs” to do so. Washington refuses to provide details on these “costs” but has a wide range of sanctions that could hit the Chinese economy.
President Joe Biden himself had indicated in an interview on ABC on Friday that he had spoken to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the issue, discussing the implications of such support and recalling that the war in Ukraine had led to the withdrawal of many companies in Russia. “It’s not a threat,” it’s a fact, he told the Chinese president.
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At a virtual summit on Friday, the heads of state and government of the G7 countries also threatened “high costs” for countries that would come to Russia’s aid to circumvent western sanctions. This war is a sensitive issue for Beijing because of its strong diplomatic and economic ties with Moscow, cemented by a shared interest in counterbalancing Washington.
China has so far refrained from taking a position on the Russian invasion. It presented a 12-point document on Friday calling on the two warring factions to engage in dialogue, insisting on respect for territorial integrity and opposing any recourse to nuclear weapons.
“Taiwan Tomorrow”
Seen from Washington, Beijing is trying to play at “two tables”, a balancing act that is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. As for Republican opposition to President Biden, it has also been concerned about possible Chinese aid to Russia, with its sights set on Taiwan, an island Beijing claims sovereignty.
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“Today it may be Ukraine, but tomorrow it will be Taiwan. So this is very important,” Republican House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said on ABC.
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