US Warns Chinese Official on Support for Russia in Ukraine War

The national security adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi met in Rome, with the Biden administration increasingly concerned that China is using the Ukraine war to advance Beijing’s long-term interest in its competition with the United States.

Sullivan was seeking clarity on Beijing’s posture and was warning the Chinese anew that assistance for Russia would be costly for them, mainly to help Russia avert sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Western allies.

“The national security adviser and our delegation raised very clearly our concerns about the PRC’s support to Russia in the wake of the invasion, and the implications that any such support would have for the PRC’s relationship not only with us, but for its relationships around the world,” the State Department spokesman Ned Price said, using the initials for the People’s Republic of China.