US President Joe Biden warned Chinese President Xi Jinping that violating the sanctions imposed on Russia during its invasion of Ukraine would be a “gigantic mistake.”
Following Xi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Winter Olympics in February, the US president claimed to have spoken with Xi. Shortly after, Russia attacked Ukraine.
“I said, ‘I think you’re making a huge mistake if you assume that Americans and others will continue to invest in China as a result of your breaking the sanctions put on Russia. But that’s your choice,'” the US president told.
According to Biden, the contact was made to warn the Chinese leader about the repercussions of disobeying Western sanctions rather than to “threaten” him.
Biden added of China, “So far, there’s no indication they’ve put forward weaponry or other things that Russia has requested.”
Since the invasion, China has given Russia an economic lifeline, but Beijing has also benefited from the actions. China has established itself as a rival market for Russian products as well as a significant consumer of inexpensive Russian fuel.
Last week, Putin criticized those who sought to “establish a unipolar world” and thanked Xi for “our Chinese partners’ balanced stance in connection with the Ukrainian problem.”
During their most recent meeting in February, Xi assured Putin that relations between China and Russia would be “beyond boundaries.”
Nevertheless, Putin acknowledged Xi had “questions and concerns” during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization conference last week in Uzbekistan regarding what Russia terms its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
After a string of defeats on the battlefield following the commencement of Ukrainian counteroffensives, Biden urged Putin to refrain from using tactical nuclear or chemical weapons.
In addition, Biden said that the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States was “over” and that his administration would control inflation, which is the main factor in his low approval ratings and the reason Republicans think they can seize control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections in November.
