"U.S. officials say China is considering delivering artillery and drones to Russian forces, even as Beijing called for peace talks to end the fighting.
The officials said no weapons deliveries have taken place. But, if China delivered lethal aid to Moscow, the resulting tensions could shape Western relations with Beijing for years, and potentially have profound consequences in Ukraine, at a point as both sides are gearing up for a spring offensive.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other U.S. officials have said China is considering providing "lethal support" to Russia, but haven't spelled out what systems might be sent.
U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports say that if Beijing provides weapons, it would include artillery in addition to drones and possibly other weapons to help Russian forces stave off an expected Ukrainian summer counteroffensive.
On Friday President Biden told reporters that "there's no evidence so far" that China is helping Russia in its fight. The president said he had a "long talk" over the summer with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and emphasized that hundreds of companies pulled out of Russia. Mr. Biden said that at the time he reminded the Mr. Xi that his own government has said China's future requires investment from Western countries.
Separately Friday, Mr. Biden said in an interview with ABC News that the U.S. would "impose severe sanctions" on China or any entity that helped Russia's military effort. "We would respond," Mr. Biden said.
The Biden administration is considering declassifying some of the intelligence that has led them to these conclusions so they can share with allied governments and the public, U.S. officials said.
The officials said any Chinese decision to provide arms would prompt Western discussions about fresh sanctions on China. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that the U.S. would continue to warn Chinese government officials, companies and banks about the potential consequences of helping Russia.
China has criticized Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, and Beijing officials have denied it is considering sending weapons to Russia.
Russia has lost thousands of artillery pieces, tanks and other critical equipment and has been burning through ammunition at rapid rates. In recent weeks, Russian fighting units have complained that they can't get adequate supplies of artillery shells.
The peace proposal from China -- in a 12-point position paper issued Friday in Beijing -- largely repeats well-known Chinese government positions and didn't condemn the Russian actions. The paper didn't call for an immediate cease-fire or propose Chinese mediation.
China's first point declares that the "sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries must be effectively upheld" and reiterated its opposition to the use of nuclear weapons.
"China's been trying to have it both ways," Mr. Blinken told ABC News on Friday. "It's on the one hand trying to present itself publicly as neutral and seeking peace, while at the same time it is talking up Russia's narrative."
Speaking later to the U.N. Security Council, Mr. Blinken alluded to China's peace proposal without singling out Beijing by name.
"Members of this Council should not fall into the false equivalency of calling on both sides to stop fighting, or calling on other nations to stop supporting Ukraine in the name of peace," he said. "No member of this Council should call for peace while supporting Russia."
Last week, Mr. Blinken warned China's top foreign-policy official, Wang Yi, in Munich to refrain from weapons deliveries. This warning and Mr. Blinken's public statements aimed to shine a light on China's deliberations in the hope of dissuading Beijing from coming to help Moscow.
European officials also have urged China not to supply weapons to Moscow.
European Union foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday he told Mr. Wang that the step would be "a red line in our relationship," though he didn't specify what the consequences would be. He said Mr. Wang told him China didn't plan to do it.
China already has provided significant support to the Russian economy, buying up Russian oil and natural gas. It also has supplied equipment that has military uses to Russian defense companies that have been sanctioned by the West, according to Russian customs data. China says the claim is "speculative."
China's effort to cast itself as a neutral party and peacemaker through the position paper contrasts with the reality of the warm relations its leader Xi Jinping has maintained with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Beijing's aggressive rhetorical support for Russia's position on what it calls, the Ukraine Crisis. Mr. Xi isn't known to have spoken with Ukraine's president since hostilities broke out.
Yet, planting a flag for peace also marks a rare move by Beijing to insert itself into a global crisis where its national interests are primarily indirect. Analysts said Beijing is positioning itself as a possible participant in any subsequent peace talks and implicitly demanding international participation, not a deal brokered solely by Western countries." [1]
China is showing that its peace offer has teeth in the form of artillery and drones. Now it is the turn of the West and Zelensky to stop moaning and seriously consider the proposal.
1. World News: U.S. Says China Eyes Drones for Russia
Gordon, Michael R; Fidler, Stephen. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.
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