Biden tells Xi Jinping not to support Russia

During an almost two-hour videoconference Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden tried to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping to use the country’s economic influence over Russia to stop the war in Ukraine. In a report given to China’s state-run media after the meeting, Beijing said it supports Ukraine but does not condemn Russia’s aggression. China has amplified claims that there are U.S.-funded bioweapons labs in Ukraine, and Xi has refrained from calling Russia’s actions a war or an invasion.

How are Chinese-Russian relations? Weeks before Russia’s invasion, President Vladimir Putin visited Xi in China, and the two leaders issued a 5,000-word statement of friendship. In the first few days after the invasion, Chinese state-owned banks appeared to be pulling out of financing Russian activities, but earlier this week, China told Russia it would be willing to provide military and economic support, according to U.S. intelligence. The White House said Biden warned Xi that China would suffer consequences if it did so.

Dig deeper: Read David C. Innes’ column in WORLD Opinions about Russia’s strategic international relationships.