BEIJING, June 17(ABC): President Xi Jinping on Wednesday assured Vladimir Putin of China s support on Russian “sovereignty and security” — leading Washington to warn Beijing it risked ending up “on the wrong side of history”.
China has refused to condemn Moscow s massive military assault on Ukraine and has been accused of providing diplomatic cover for Russia by blasting Western sanctions and arms sales to Kyiv.
China is “willing to continue to offer mutual support (to Russia) on issues concerning core interests and major concerns such as sovereignty and security,” state broadcaster reported Xi as saying during a call with President Putin.
It was the second reported call between the two leaders since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
According to reports, Xi praised the “good momentum of development” in bilateral relations since the start of the year “in the face of global turmoil and changes”.
Beijing was willing to “intensify strategic coordination between the two countries”, Xi reportedly said.
The Kremlin said the two leaders had agreed to ramp up economic cooperation in the face of “unlawful” Western sanctions.
“It was agreed to expand cooperation in the energy, financial, industrial, transport and other areas, taking into account the situation in the global economy that has become more complicated due to the unlawful sanctions policy of the West,” the Kremlin said following the phone call.
But the United States swiftly weighed in with a frosty retort to Beijing s expressed alignment with Moscow.
“China claims to be neutral, but its behavior makes clear that it is still investing in close ties to Russia,” a State Department spokesperson said.
Washington was “monitoring China s activity closely,” including how, nearly four months into Russia s war in Ukraine, the Asian giant was “still echoing Russian propaganda around the world” and suggesting Moscow s atrocities in Ukraine were “staged,” the official said.
“Nations that side with Vladimir Putin will inevitably find themselves on the wrong side of history.”