25 March 2023: US President Joe Biden said Friday he believes China did not send weapons to Russia after President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine.
“For the last three months, I have been hearing that China will provide significant weapons to Russia… Not yet. That doesn’t mean no, but not yet,” he told a news conference during a visit to Canada.
“I don’t take China lightly. I don’t take Russia lightly,” he added, suggesting that reports of their rapprochement were probably “exaggerated.”
Conversely, Biden emphasized the strong ties between Western democracies, saying that “if anything, the West has become much more united.”
He pointed to US security alliances in the Pacific, such as the Quad, which also includes Australia, India and Japan, as well as AUKUS with Australia and Britain.
During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow this week, Russia and Beijing hailed the “special nature” of their relationship.
But while the Chinese leader has promised a trade lifeline and some moral support, more notably he has not committed to providing weapons to depleted Russian forces in Ukraine, a move that would have triggered Western sanctions against China.
There was also no long-term Chinese commitment to buy the vast amounts of Russian gas that no longer flows to Europe.