In a call with China’s President Xi Jinping, President Joe Biden “detailed the implications and consequences” if Beijing were to provide “material support to Russia” in its attacks against Ukraine, the White House has said.
Biden spoke at length with China’s top leader to dissuade Beijing from providing aid to bolster Russia’s offensive. Washington is worried that Moscow would turn to Beijing for support as its failure to capture most major Ukrainian cities has led to an intensifying campaign of missile and artillery strikes against civilians.
In the aftermath of one of the most alarming strikes, nearly levelling a theatre in Mariupol, a Ukrainian official said over 130 survivors were rescued.
China and the US should “shoulder international responsibilities,” Xi was quoted as saying, as well as declaring that “peace is the most valued treasure”.
In their first call since November, Biden had hoped to persuade Xi to at least give up any idea of bailing out Russia.
China should "understand that their future is with the United States, with Europe, with other developed and developing countries around the world. Their future is not to stand with Vladimir Putin," Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told CNN earlier Friday.
So far Beijing has refused to condemn its fellow authoritarian ally, and Washington fears China could deliver financial and military support to Russia, transforming an already explosive transatlantic standoff into a global dispute.
If that happens, not only would Beijing help Putin weather sanctions and continue his war, but Western governments would face the painful decision of how to strike back at the world's second biggest economy, prompting further turmoil in international markets.
The White House was tight-lipped on whether Biden would threaten China with economic sanctions during his call, but some sort of response was on the table.
Biden "will make clear that China will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia's aggression and we will not hesitate to impose costs," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said ahead of the call. Blinken urged China to use its "leverage" on Moscow.
The Biden-Xi call came after US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Communist Party's chief diplomat, held what the White House called a "substantial" seven hour meeting in Rome this week.
Against a backdrop of already intense US-Chinese tensions over Taiwan and trade disputes, the ability or failure of Biden and Xi to come to an understanding on the unfolding mayhem in Europe will reverberate widely.
Xi and Putin symbolically sealed their close partnership when they met at the February Winter Olympics in Beijing -- just before Putin launched his onslaught on Ukraine.
Since then, Beijing has stood out by refusing to join international outcry over the invasion, while taking the Russian line in blaming the United States and NATO for European tensions.
Chinese authorities even refuse to refer to the invasion as a "war," again in keeping with Kremlin talking points.
But China has also tried to remain somewhat ambiguous, declaring support for Ukraine's sovereignty.
