Blinken asks China to stand up against Russia’s war in Ukraine

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to stand up against Russia’s war in Ukraine when they met at the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali on Saturday.  

Blinken told reporters after the five-hour meeting with Yi that remaining neutral in the Ukraine-Russia conflict is a difficult position to have, claiming there is a “clear” aggressor and victim in this case.

“There is a clear challenge not only to the lives and livelihoods of people in Ukraine but there is a challenge to the international order that China and the United States as permanent members of the Security Council are supposed to uphold,” he said.

But Blinken also claimed that the Chinese government is not neutral in the conflict, arguing that it is strengthening the Russian narrative and has continued to support Moscow in the United Nations.  

“But even if you accept that as a premise, I don’t think that China is, in fact, engaging in a way that suggests neutrality,” he said.

China, and 23 other countries, voted against a UN resolution in April that suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council following the start of the invasion.

Blinken said Chinese President Xi Jinping told US President Joe Biden in a phone call last month that he stands by a partnership he made with Russian President Vladimir Putin in February.

Blinken said he called on Yi that all countries should stand up against Russia, and demand that Moscow allow other countries access to the food supply from Ukraine and end the war.

The top US diplomat however did not share how Yi responded.

Following a meeting with Blinken, Yi warned the direction of US-China relations is in danger of being further led “astray” due to Washington’s perception of Beijing.

“Many people believe that the United States is suffering from an increasingly serious bout of 'Chinaphobia',” Wang said.

He said the United States should cancel additional tariffs imposed on China as soon as possible, adding that it should also cease unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies in a “candid” exchange.

Yellen urges Europeans to adopt a united approach against China

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that the United States and its Western allies must take a wary and united approach to check China and its business practices.

Relations between the US and China have grown tense in recent years, with the world’s two largest economies clashing over a range of issues, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, trade, the Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, military activities in the South China Sea, and the origins of the new coronavirus.

Beijing has repeatedly warned that Western countries, particularly the United States, have been carrying out a smear campaign against China.

China has said it has always been the victim of the US disinformation campaign, hitting back at Washington's allegations that Beijing has helped Russia produce propaganda against Ukraine.

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