'No Evidence' China Provides Lethal Aid To Russia, State Department Says, As Blinken Heading to Beijing to Stabilize Ties

Washington D.C./15.06.23/Turan:  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China this weekend to discuss ways to "responsibly manage" the relationship between the two superpowers, the State Department said on Wednesday.

This will be the first trip to the Chinese capital by a top U.S. diplomat since 2018.

Blinken has three main objectives for the visit as described by top State Department officials: First, to establish communication channels to help manage competition so it does not veer into conflict. Second, to stand up and speak for American values.  And third,  to explore potential cooperation and transnational challenges.

Asked by TURAN whether Washington had any concern that China might provide lethal aid to Russia, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a daily press briefing that the U.S. has "not to this point seen evidence that they have carried out that step."

"It would be greatly concerning if they did," he added.

Miller also said that Ukraine would be a matter of conversation during the trip. When it comes to China's potential "peace proposals", the Spokesperson said: "China has said that they are interested in pursuing peace, but they’ve also been closely aligned with Russia since the outset of this war.  So if China is serious about pursuing a peace that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty, that respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity, of course, that would be important and that would be useful."

After Beijing, Blinken will head to London to attend a Ukraine Recovery Conference to "mobilize international support from the public and private sector" and help Ukraine recover from Russia’s brutal and ongoing attacks.

Alex Raufoglu