U.S., EU allies to coordinate on China in NATO, G7 meetings this week

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21/03/2022 16:55

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's
bid to drive a wedge between Chinese President Xi Jinping and
Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war will be a
key topic of discussion this week when Biden travels to Brussels
for talks with European leaders.
    The United States and its allies will discuss providing
weaponry and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and the
Ukrainian refugee crisis at an extraordinary NATO summit,
meeting of the Group of Seven economies, and a European Council
summit on Thursday. 
    But after his inconclusive talks with Chinese President Xi
Jinping on Friday, Biden also plans to coordinate a response to
Beijing if it provides material support to Russia's invasion of
Ukraine with European leaders, U.S. administration officials
say. 
    "During his visit to Brussels, President Biden will
coordinate with our EU partners on all aspects of our response
to President Putin’s unprovoked and unjustified war on Ukraine,
and this includes the concerns we share with the EU if China
provides material support to Russia," said a senior Biden
administration official.
    The success of close coordination on economic sanctions,
export controls and trade measures imposed on Russia have
brought Europe and the United States closer together, a second
senior U.S. official said. These democratic leaders have growing
concerns about China's potential role in the conflict.
    "The challenges that we face ... are the same ones the
Europeans face. And so I really do think that there is ... an
inflection point here in many ways," the second official said. 
    European nations and the United States have been working
behind the scenes for weeks to try to convince Chinese officials
not to back Putin's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a
"special operation," and to push Putin for a cease fire. The war
has killed hundreds of civilians, destroyed towns and displaced
millions. 
    The Chinese ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, told
CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that China was not sending
arms or financial assistance to Russia. However, he and other
Chinese officials have publicly rejected a push to change
course, claiming China is on the right side of history.
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    Some diplomats and analysts see signs that Beijing is
shifting. Recent statements from Beijing have called for a cease
fire, and emphasized the war's cost to the global economy, one
European official noted, a split from Russia's position. 
    In the year since Biden took office, Xi has shown no sign of
buckling to various U.S. demands, and has been using closer ties
with Russia as a counterweight against pressures exerted on
China by the West.
    Xi has rejected investigations into the origin of the
coronavirus in Wuhan, China, in 2019. He has refused to pressure
North Korea to rein in its nuclear weapons program and rejected
criticism of Chinese treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. He has
raised tensions with Taiwan and continued a quest to dominate
the South China Sea.
    However, China's close economic ties to Group of Seven
wealthy democracies, which buy about one-third of its exports,
could provide leverage in the bid to distance Xi from Putin.
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 (Reporting By Steve Holland, Andrea Shalal and David Brunnstrom
in Washington and John Irish in Paris
Editing by Heather Timmons and Alistair Bell)
 ((Steve.a.holland@thomsonreuters.com;
www.twitter.com/steveholland1; 202 898 8300; Reuters Messaging:
steve.holland.reuters.com@reuters.net))