NEW: Russia asked China for military and economic support after Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, US officials say. Jake Sullivan plans to meet with Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday to discuss the war and China’s role. w/ @julianbarnes. nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/…
@julianbarnes 2. The Biden administration is seeking to lay out for China the consequences of its alignment with Russia. Some US officials argue it might be possible to dissuade Beijing from ramping up its assistance to Moscow. Xi may not want to further enmesh himself with Putin, they say.
3. Some US officials are looking for ways to compel Xi to distance himself from Putin on the war. Others see Xi as a lost cause & prefer to treat China & Russia as firm partners, hoping that might galvanize policies & coordination among Asian & European allies to contain them.
4. A US official told us the Russians also asked China for greater economic assistance to help blunt sanctions imposed by Western powers. US officials are watching closely for any such moves by Beijing. Sullivan said there would “absolutely” be consequences for China.
5. When we asked him for comment for our story, Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in DC, said China encouraged a “peaceful settlement” to Ukraine. Some US officials & China analysts say China is putting up a smokescreen to try to appear neutral while siding w/ Russia.
6. If China gives substantial military aid to Russia for Ukraine, it would move US-China relations further to a pre-1972 chill. The 50th anniversary of Nixon’s trip to China was last month. But Russia might insist on aid, as its military supplies run low and its army struggles.
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