Blinken Confronts China on Support for Russia at ASEAN Conference

During a significant diplomatic engagement on Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken directly addressed key points of contention with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, particularly focusing on China’s support for Russia’s military industrial capabilities. This high-stakes meeting took place on the sidelines of an annual international conference of Southeast Asian nations held in the Laotian capital, Vientiane.

Notably present at the conference was Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, who utilized a group session to assert that the United States was responsible for instigating Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This remark was reported by a senior official from the State Department who accompanied Mr. Blinken.

In their discussions, Mr. Blinken voiced serious concerns regarding China’s role in supporting Russia amidst the ongoing conflict. Although Mr. Wang listened attentively to these criticisms, he maintained that China has refrained from supplying weapons to Russia, as reported by the State Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide a more candid insight into the diplomatic dialogue.

Recently, President Joe Biden and his administration have accused China of playing a role in assisting Russia in revitalizing its defense industrial sector. This assistance is primarily manifested through the export of critical components such as machine tools and microelectronics by Chinese companies, which have been pivotal in sustaining the Russian military’s operations in Ukraine.

In a pointed remark, Mr. Blinken emphasized to Mr. Wang that the defense of Ukraine against Russian aggression constitutes a “core interest” for the United States. This phrase mirrors terminology often employed by Chinese officials to convey their national priorities, underscoring the gravity of the issue at hand.

In response to these concerns, the U.S. government has enacted sanctions targeting over 300 Chinese entities related to these exports. However, the Chinese government has yet to take significant steps to limit these exports, according to the State Department official. Mr. Blinken provided specific instances of these exports during their conversation, although details of that part of the discussion were not disclosed.