Biden warns Xi against supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine.

WASHINGTON — President Biden warned President Xi Jinping of China on Friday of repercussions if Beijing decides to provide Russia monetary or army support to assist its warfare in Ukraine, White Home officers mentioned, however they didn’t specify what these penalties can be.

Mr. Biden laid out for Mr. Xi the punishments that the US and its allies had imposed on Russia because of President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine final month, mentioned a senior U.S. official, who briefed reporters on the situation of anonymity concerning the almost two-hour video name between the 2 leaders.

That punishment has primarily taken the type of sanctions which have devastated Russia’s economic system, the eleventh largest on the earth. The implication was that the US may impose comparable sanctions on China, the world’s second-largest economic system.

The decision got here as Russia is in search of to seize Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and second-largest metropolis, Kharkiv, and develop management of the southern coast. However Russian forces are reeling from excessive casualties — 7,000 or extra troopers killed, in line with a conservative American intelligence estimate — and the invention of essential gaps in its army prowess.

U.S. officers have warned that Mr. Putin is in search of financial assist, army {hardware} and area rations from China. American officers have leaked these findings, maybe to each embarrass Mr. Putin and put China’s management on the spot.

At a press briefing, Jen Psaki, the White Home press secretary, mentioned that after the decision, the US nonetheless had issues about how China would react. “We’ll proceed to look at till we see what actions they take or don’t,” she mentioned.

Requested concerning the U.S. supplying arms and monetary support to Ukraine whereas telling China to not provide any to Russia, Ms. Psaki mentioned, “I’d remind everyone that Russia is invading Ukraine, not the opposite approach round.” She additionally mentioned that the fabric going to Ukraine is solely defensive, including, “Not one of the weapons we have now despatched can be utilized to launch an invasion of a rustic like Russia.”

U.S. and European officers see China’s function as a essential one, and choices by Mr. Xi may push the warfare in several instructions — maybe towards a cease-fire or extra sturdy diplomatic talks by numerous events to barter an finish to Russia’s marketing campaign, or towards renewed momentum for the Russian forces of their lethal offensive.

Mr. Xi, who has constructed a bond with Mr. Putin over years and has declined to sentence Russia’s actions in Ukraine, gave no indication that he would contain China in efforts for a diplomatic answer, in line with an official Chinese language readout of the decision.

That abstract emphasised the friction between China and the US over Taiwan earlier than addressing Ukraine. It mentioned Mr. Xi identified that “the state of affairs in Ukraine has developed so far, which China doesn’t wish to see,” and reiterated his statements that China would offer humanitarian support and that Russia and Ukraine ought to maintain peace talks.

The US and NATO must also discuss with Russia to resolve the disaster, Mr. Xi mentioned, and he used a phrase he and different Chinese language officers have employed when blaming troubles on the US: “Let he who tied the bell on the tiger take it off.”