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The U.S. could enact strict economic sanctions against China should it support Russia’s war in Ukraine with weapons and munitions.
Washington has already issued several warnings to deter Beijing from taking the course.
The Pentagon, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield all warned of consequences should China supply Russia with arms, but they have not made clear what the retaliatory action would be.
Given China’s role in the global economy, sanctions are a likely start.
Maia Nikoladze, the assistant director of the GeoEconomics Center at the Atlantic Council, said the U.S. would likely start with sanctions. China would have to decide whether supporting Russia is worth alienating itself in the global economy.
“China is a lot more intertwined with the world economy than Russia is,” she said. “I do not think that China would go so far as to take Russia’s side. They’re just trying to be neutral [but] only so far as it does not cause punitive economic measures.”Blinken warnings, Chinese denial
Blinken first sounded the alarm last weekend when he said China has already provided nonlethal assistance to Russia and was considering a shift in its aid.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Monday denied allegations that Beijing is considering sending lethal aid and instead accused the U.S. of escalating the war in Ukraine by “pouring weapons into the battlefield.”
In a Thursday interview with The Atlantic, Blinken added the U.S. has “picked up information” in the last couple of months that China is considering the possibility of escalating the level of aid it provides to Russia, but said it might not follow through.
