Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of the Kremlin, amid growing concerns that Beijing could fundamentally change its support for Russia in its war in Ukraine.
While Chinese leaders had largely portrayed itself as a peace-seeking independent party of the war, Biden administration officials began warning the public a couple of weeks ago that the United States has intelligence indicating Beijing is considering providing lethal aid to Russia, which could mark a fundamental shift in the landscape of the war.
TIMELINE OF RUSSIA'S YEARLONG WAR IN UKRAINE
Lukashenko and Xi signed a statement on their growing relationship, and the leader of Belarus also shared his support for a recent proposal from Beijing regarding Russia's war in Ukraine.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry released a policy paper on last week's anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war that called for a ceasefire and peace talks, but it also criticized unilateral sanctions and called for the recognition of the "sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries."
"China's paper on the political solution to the Ukrainian crisis has been released. The core of China's position is to promote peace and talks. We must stick to the direction of political settlement, abandon all Cold War mentality, respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and build a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security architecture," said Xi.
The Belarusian president, who allowed Russian troops to invade Ukraine from Belarus's southern border about a year ago, said he “fully supports” China’s position paper.
Chinese leaders have long called for such talks, but they have sided simultaneously with the Kremlin on topics such as the West's sanctions and aid to Ukraine. The U.S. has already sanctioned some Chinese companies that provided nonlethal support to Russian mercenaries, including satellite imagery to help target weapons in combat.
CIA Director William Burns said over the weekend that the U.S. is "confident" in the assessment that China is considering providing lethal aid to Russia, though he, like the other officials, pointed out that the U.S. has not yet seen Beijing provide such aid to Russia, only that the country is considering it. Officials have threatened "consequences" for China should they decide to do it, though they have remained largely tight-lipped on what could include.
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“From our perspective, actually, this war presents real complications for Beijing. And Beijing will have to make its own decisions about how it proceeds, whether it provides military assistance. But if it goes down that road, it will come at real costs to China. And I think China’s leaders are weighing that as they make their decisions,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN a few days ago.
The administration has warned that Putin's relationships with Tehran and Beijing are continuing to develop and pose significant threats both to Ukraine and the rest of the world.