US President Joe Biden said he warned Chinese President Xi Jinping that if China violated sanctions on Russia, it would make a serious mistake and the US and other countries could stop investing in China, but so far Beijing has shown no signs of supplying arms to Moscow.
He and Xi spoke on the phone shortly after their meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, according to a summary of Biden’s interview that aired Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes” program. A few days after the Beijing Winter Olympics closed, Putin launched an attack on Ukraine.
“Not long after, I called President Xi, not a threat, but a confession,” Biden said. “We have met many times., I would invest in China, it would be a big mistake, but it’s your decision.”
Biden did not specify the time of the call, but his remarks matched a transcript of a public call between US and Chinese leaders in March. According to records at the time, Biden said, “there will be repercussions and consequences if China provides substantial support to Russia following Russia’s brutal attack on Ukrainian cities and civilians.”
Biden said on the program that there is currently no sign of Beijing supplying Russia with weapons and other materials.
While Beijing shows no signs of violating sanctions, US-China economic relations remain strained. The White House has taken steps to protect domestic supply chains such as semiconductors to reduce dependence on China and increase control over foreign investment.
Asked whether Sino-Russian relations have plunged the United States into a “new and more complicated Cold War,” Biden said: “I don’t think it’s a new, more complicated Cold War.”
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