Joe Biden says he doesn’t believe China is sending weapons to Russia

Joe Biden said he didn’t think China would send weapons to Russia to help its military campaign in Ukraine.

One interview with ABC television In a broadcast Friday on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. president suggested he was less concerned about the claims — which came from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other senior officials — that China was considering. providing weapons to strengthen the Russian army.

“I don’t expect a serious initiative from China to give Russia weapons,” Biden said in an interview at the White House.

While Biden said he did not expect China to send weapons, he warned that he would “respond” if Beijing did. But the president’s concerns seemed lower than those of senior members of his administration, who have suggested in the past week that China is seriously considering sending weapons to Russia.

Last weekend, after meeting Wang Yi, China’s top foreign policy official, at the Munich Security Conference, Blinken told NBC television that he was very concerned about possible Chinese help.

“Some more information that we’re sharing today and I think will be coming soon. . . it indicates that they are strongly considering providing lethal assistance to Russia,” Blinken told the television network.

Blinken said he told Wang there would be “serious consequences” if China sent weapons.

Blinken’s warning came 11 months after the United States last said China was considering transferring weapons to Russia after President Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin signed a borderless partnership weeks before the Ukraine invasion.

In the months that followed, administration officials said China had prepared to send weapons but reversed course after warnings from the United States.

In a separate interview with CBS News last weekend, Blinken said China has provided “non-lethal” support to Russia for use in Ukraine and is now considering providing “lethal support.”

Despite Blinken’s claim that the information “will be out there soon,” the White House has not provided public evidence to support the claims.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined to elaborate Friday when asked why the United States had not released the evidence after officials stressed the issue.

“I just don’t have the intelligence to talk today,” Kirby replied, adding, “I won’t take it any further than that.”

The Biden administration on Friday placed five Chinese groups on an “entity list” — which effectively bans companies from providing American technology to groups — for their alleged role in supporting the Russian military. The action was part of a large package targeting almost 300 individuals and groups.

In a move coordinated with the G7, the US warned that there would be “severe costs” for any country that helped Russia avoid sanctions.

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