‘China understands’: Joe Biden says Beijing aware of risks of aiding Russia

US President Joe Biden on Thursday, speaking at a news conference outside the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, said that China understood the possibility of dire economic consequences if it supported Russia in the war in Ukraine.

The 79-year-old referred to his phone call with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, last week, and said that he had a “very straightforward conversation” with President Xi about the situation in Ukraine.

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President Biden went on to say that he made no threats to his Chinese counterpart, but made it clear that Xi would be “putting himself at significant jeopardy in those aims [to allegedly help Russia], if, in fact, he were to move forward.”

“I think that China understands that its economic future is much more closely tied to the west than it is to Russia. And so I am hopeful that he does not get engaged,” Biden further said during the press conference.

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The two heads of state had spoken last week to discuss “the competition between our two countries as well as Russia’s war against Ukraine and other issues of mutual concern.”

While President Biden warned his Chinese counterpart of the consequences of aiding Russia, Xi, in turn, urged Biden to handle the Taiwan issue carefully, amid escalating tensions in the region.

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However, despite their differences, both leaders acknowledged the fallout of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, and President Xi emphasized the need for peace, saying, “State-to-state relations cannot go to the stage of military hostilities. Peace and security are the most valued treasures of the international community.”

Although China has not yet formally condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and has refused to even call it an invasion, Beijing has announced humanitarian aid to Ukraine over the past two weeks, signalling a possible change in its stance on the ongoing war.