President Joe Biden’s top national security adviser expressed strong concerns about China’s alignment with Russia during a seven-hour meeting with his Chinese counterpart that dealt extensively with Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in Rome on Monday as the United States seeks to rally countries against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. The U.S. and allies have imposed crippling sanctions aimed at escalating the cost of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war while targeting mechanisms to evade the penalties.
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“We do have deep concerns about China’s alignment with Russia at the time, and the national security adviser was direct about those events and the potential implications and consequences of certain actions,” a senior administration official told reporters, calling the long-planned meeting “very candid.”
“It was an intense seven-hour session reflecting the gravity of the moment, as well as our commitment to maintaining open lines of communication,” the official said, adding that it “was not about negotiating specific issues or outcomes.”
The official declined to comment on reports that U.S. officials have intelligence that China has expressed openness to providing Russia with military and financial assistance.
Over the weekend, Sullivan also warned China against any steps to “bail out” Russia or circumvent Western sanctions during an interview on NBC.
“We do have deep concerns about China’s alignment with Russia at this time,” the official said, adding that Sullivan “was direct about those events, and the potential implications and consequences of those actions.”
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She added, “We’re not communicating via the press with China, we’re communicating directly and privately.”
Sullivan and his Chinese counterpart also discussed concerns about advances in North Korea’s ballistic weapons program “because that is also an escalating situation that demands our attention.”
