Blinken and Xi Jinping meeting: US threatens China with new sanctions over aid to Russia

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to refrain from cooperating with Russia and assisting it in its war against Ukraine and warned that Washington could increase sanctions against Beijing during a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, NBC News reported.

"Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support," the US Secretary of State said.

Blinken admitted the possibility of expanding US sanctions against China for assisting Russia.

"In the case of the United States, we’ve already imposed sanctions on more than a hundred Chinese entities, export controls, et cetera. And we’re fully prepared to act, take additional measures, and I made that very clear in my meetings today," he said.

Earlier, FT journalists, citing informed sources, wrote that during the meeting, Blinken would convey a message to Wang Yi that support for Russia's military-industrial complex would have consequences in the form of punitive measures.

During the April 26 meeting, the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that problems are increasing in relations between the countries. Blinken, in turn, stressed the importance of dialogue, calling bilateral relations "the most consequential" in the world.

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