Nearly one year after Russia invaded Ukraine, new questions are rising over China’s potential willingness to offer military aid to Moscow in the increasingly drawn-out conflict. In an interview that aired Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said American intelligence suggests China is considering providing arms and ammunition to Russia, an involvement in the Kremlin’s war effort that he said would be a “serious problem.” China has refused to criticize Russia for its actions or even to call it an invasion in deference to Moscow. At the same time, it insists that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations must be upheld. The question now is whether China is willing to convert that rhetorical backing into material support. On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin accused the United States of “fanning flames and stoking confrontations” by providing Ukraine with defensive weapons, and said Beijing would “never accept (U.S.) finger-pointing and even coercion and pressure on China-Russia relations.” Here’s a look at where China stands on the conflict. DOES CHINA BACK RUSSIA IN ITS WAR ON UKRAINE? China has tried to walk a fine — and often contradictory — line on the Russian invasion. China says Russia was provoked into taking action by NATO’s eastward expansion. Just weeks before the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing for the opening of the Winter Olympics, at which time the sides issued a joint statement pledging their commitment to a “no limits” friendship. China has since ignored Western criticism and reaffirmed that pledge. But China has yet to confirm the visit Putin has said he expects from Xi this spring. China is “trying to have it both ways,” Blinken said Sunday on NBC. “Publicly, they present themselves as a country striving for peace in Ukraine, but privately, as I said, we’ve seen already over these past months the provision of non-lethal assistance that does go directly to aiding and abetting Russia’s war effort.” HAS CHINA PROVIDED MATERIAL SUPPORT TO RUSSIA? So far, China’s support for Russia has been rhetorical and political, with Beijing helping prevent efforts to condemn Moscow at the United Nations. Blinken, at a security conference in Munich, Germany, said the U.S. has long been concerned that China would provide weapons to Russia and that “we have information that gives us concern that they are considering providing lethal support to Russia in the war against Ukraine.” That came a day after Blinken held talks with Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Party’s most senior foreign policy official, in a meeting that offered little sign of a reduction in tensions or progress on the Ukraine issue. “It was important for me to share very clearly with Wang Yi that this would be a serious problem,” Blinken said, referring to potential military support for Russia. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, also expressed her concern about any effort by the Chinese to arm Russia, saying “that would be a red line.” Russian and Chinese forces have held joint military drills since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, most recently sending ships to take part in exercises with the South African navy in a key shipping lane off the South African coast. Ukraine’s defense minister expressed doubt Monday about the U.S. […]

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