EU: Josep Borrell, the head of foreign policy for the European Union, has expressed "strong concerns" about Beijing possibly giving Russia weapons. The warning followed similar accusations made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week, who claimed China was getting ready to provide "lethal assistance" to Russia's forces.
The top diplomat for the EU told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday that he had personally asked Wang not to give any weapons to Russia.
I begged him not to do that and told him that for us, it would cross a line in our relationship as well as our concern," Borrell said.
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Borrell stated that the EU would "remain vigilant," but Wang reportedly gave the Foreign Affairs chief assurance that China has no plans to make any such deliveries.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States' representative to the UN, said on Sunday that Beijing's assistance to Moscow in the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine would cross a "red line" for Washington.
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According to Blinken, such a move would have "serious consequences" on US-China relations. He also noted that Washington was likely already aware of Beijing's assistance to Moscow that was non-lethal in nature.
In response to the accusations, China's Foreign Ministry called on the US to "seriously reflect" on its own role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The US, not China, has been flooding the battlefield with weapons, according to ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Monday. "The US is not in a position to direct China. We would never accept blame-shifting or even US pressure and coercion in regards to our relations with Russia, he continued.
Beijing has asserted time and time again that it is "on the side of peace and dialogue" and has called for negotiations between Kiev and Moscow, while also charging the US and NATO with stoking the conflict.