Secretary of State Antony Blinken Threatens China With Sanctions If it Assists Russia

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Feb 28, 2023

On February 28, 2023, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the US will sanction China if it provides military aid to Russia as it continues carrying out its military operation in Ukraine. 

During a joint news conference with Kazakh foreign minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi on that day, Blinken revealed that the US has warned China about the consequences it would face if it supplies Russia with such aid. He announced that the US will quickly impose sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals if they violate the West’s anti-Russia sanctions policies or provide material support to Russia’s military campaign in some shape or form. 

Should China supply Russia with lethal weapons, Blinken declared that it will be a “serious problem” for China in its relations with the US and the broader international community.

“China can’t have it both ways when it comes to Russian aggression in Ukraine,” Blinken stated. He stressed that China should not be putting forward peace proposals, while “feeding the flames” that Russia initially ignited. 

On February 18, Blinken asserted that China was getting ready to supply weapons to Russia to assist it in its military operations in Ukraine. Curiously, EU foreign affairs spokesperson Nabila Massrali a few days later said that the EU had “no clear evidence of China providing lethal weapons systems to Russia.” Pentagon Spokesperson Patrick Ryder revealed that the US military had not detected any weapons transfer from China to Russia but has not fully discounted China trying to pursue such actions. 

China supplying military aid to Russia may become an inevitability due to the fact that the US has been pursuing a dual containment strategy against the two Eurasian nuclear powers. As a result, the two Eurasian giants have to pact together and form their own alliance to balance against the Collective West’s over-bearing foreign policy. 

While China may benefit from the West being bogged down in a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, it ultimately cannot have Russia lose in this conflict. Should Russia lose in Ukraine, China will be the next target on the US national security state’s hit list. For that reason, China may be compelled to supply aid to Russia to ensure it realizes its military goals in Ukraine. 

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