US warns China ‘can’t have it both ways’ as it seeks to strengthen ties with West and Russia

Chinese President Xi Jinping cannot “go both ways” as he seeks to strengthen his ties with both the West and Russia, the United States government said Thursday.

China “can’t have it both ways,” Vedant Patel, a US State Department spokesman, told reporters as Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to Beijing.

“You can’t have it both ways and want a relationship [melhores] with Europe and other countries, while continuing to fuel the biggest threat to European security in a long time,” Patel said, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a conflict that has lasted more than two years.

Washington believes that China, even if it does not send weapons directly to Moscow, supports Russia’s war efforts. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this last month in Beijing.

“We find it unacceptable that Chinese companies are helping Putin wage this war against Ukraine,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed this Thursday.

China’s support for the Russian defense industry “not only threatens the security of Ukraine, but also threatens the security of Europe,” Patel emphasized.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin spoke this Thursday in Beijing in defense of the Sino-Russian axis as a factor of stability and peace in the world.

The Russian president is making a two-day visit to China, his first trip abroad since his re-election in March and his second trip to China in just over six months.

The Chinese leader is returning from a trip to Europe, where he defended the right to maintain normal economic ties with his Russian neighbor.

Asked about Xi Jinping’s recently expressed desire to see peace return to the European continent, Vedant Patel replied: “From our point of view, the solution is simple: Russia just needs to leave Ukraine.”