'Serious problem for us' if China supplies weapons to Russia, US Secretary of State says

The US has said that it suspects that China may be about to provide weapons to Russia, with the American Secretary of State warning China against doing so. 

Anthony Blinken met with Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi on Saturday evening at the Munich Security Conference in Germany where he urged China not to supply lethal aid to Vladimir Putin.  

In an interview with US media after the meeting Secretary Blinken said that Washington was concerned that Beijing was considering supplying weapons to Moscow.  

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"The concern that we have now is, based on information we have, that they're considering providing lethal support," Blinken told US network CBS after he met with Councillor Wang.

"And we've made very clear to them that that could cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship," he added.

Relations between the two countries have been strained following the shooting down of a suspected spy balloon over US territory, which China has claimed was a weather monitoring balloon blown off course.  

Speaking to US media, Blinken pointed out that the US has not received an apology regarding what it believes was an intrusion of its sovereign territory, while China has called the reaction "almost hysterical". 

"To have dispatched an advanced fighter jet to shoot down a balloon with a missile, such behaviour is unbelievable, almost hysterical," Councillor Wang said. 

Following the balloon incident, Blinken postponed a planned trip to China, which would have been the first trip to the country by a US Secretary of State in five years.  

US Vice President Kamala Harris said that Russia has committed crimes against humanity and warned China against supplying Russia with lethal aid.  

China said that they will be unveiling a proposed peace plan on the one-year anniversary of the war.  

During his speech at the Security Conference, Councillor Wang said the peace initiative would focus on upholding the UN charter and Ukrainian territorial integrity, while also respecting Russian legitimate security interests.  

Russia's economic connection to China has increased, after western countries imposed sanctions and withdrew businesses from Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.