Harris warns against Chinese support for Russia in Ukraine

[catsudon]

Source: reuters

At the Munich Security Conference, Harris said the United States was "troubled that Beijing has deepened its relationship with Moscow since the war began."

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/harris-says-troubled-that-china-has-deepened-relationship-with-russia-2023-02-18/

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China is clever here, Russia have no one else to trust. As soon as the timing is right, Vladivostok could very well return to china's hand after losing it in 1860. a classic chinese tale as old as time, The Battle Between the Clam and the Crane.

[Irish_Dem]

1. The deep relationship was already there. It just became more visible after the invasion.

They need each other to achieve their goals of superpower status.

[Stuart G]

2. Please note: A calculated condemnation at conference of China.

Not the most powerful statement, but powerful enough to take notice.

[Evolve Dammit]

3. Putin and Xi have a genuine connection it would appear. And China can produce whatever is needed. nt

[paleotn]

4. Careful, Xi. China has enough trouble domestically. It doesn't need any more.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. China may be on brink of supplying arms to Russia, says Blinken

The US has said it believes China may be about to provide lethal aid to help Russia in the war in Ukraine, prompting a direct warning against doing so from the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, to China’s top diplomat.

Blinken made the warning to the Chinese state councillor Wang Yi on Saturday evening at a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich security conference during which he also rebuked China over the use of an alleged spy balloon over US soil.

In a blunt meeting he also urged China to stop helping Russia evade the impact of sanctions. China’s trade with Russia is increasing and it has been buying Russian oil, but probably below the US$60 per barrel price cap imposed by the EU and G7 group of states.

Blinken told US networks that the US had information China was considering whether to give Russia assistance, possibly including guns and weapons, for the Ukraine war.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/19/china-may-be-on-brink-of-supplying-arms-to-russia-says-blinken

[chowmama]

6. I can't really agree with the connection/relationship theory

I think China is playing a long game of 'Let's you and him fight'. The longer Russia can remain in armed conflict with the West, including the US, the more both are weakened. This leaves China in an increasingly better position to take the win.

Arms, yeah - China will supply those. Troops or anything else that would represent a real commitment, not so much. They're not planning on weakening themselves.

[News Junkie]

7. They'd basically be doing what we're doing

Weapons, no troops. So I'm not sure how we would be getting weakened any more than them.

[chowmama]

8. Yeah, that occurred to me

I was speaking of the West generally, and we haven't ruled out actually committing ourselves further, but so far, we're doing the same thing, if for different reasons.

However, if China makes it possible for Russia to ramp things up even worse, I'm not sure what we'd do. I'm just expressing a belief that China is not interested in helping Russia in the least, except insofar as it's self-serving for China.

I don't think we're in this for ourselves in quite the same way. Not that we're saints, but keeping Russia's neighboring countries from being invaded is not the same as wanting to 'conquer Russia'. I'm also aware that that's not at all how Russia sees it.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

9. US ambassador to the UN says China would cross 'red line' by providing lethal aid to Russia

The US ambassador to the United Nations said Sunday that China would cross a “red line” if the country decided to provide lethal military aid to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

“We welcome the Chinese announcement that they want peace because that’s what we always want to pursue in situations like this. But we also have to be clear that if there are any thoughts and efforts by the Chinese and others to provide lethal support to the Russians in their brutal attack against Ukraine, that that is unacceptable,” Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told CNN’s Pamela Brown on “State of the Union.”

“That would be a red line,” she said.

As CNN previously reported, the US has begun seeing “disturbing” trendlines in China’s support for Russia’s military, and there are signs that Beijing wants to “creep up to the line” of providing lethal military aid to Russia without getting caught, US officials familiar with the intelligence told CNN.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-ambassador-to-the-un-says-china-would-cross-red-line-by-providing-lethal-aid-to-russia/ar-AA17GBxA

[former9thward]

10. And what would crossing the red line mean?

No mention in the article.