NATO chief promises ‘severe consequences’ if China arms Russia
Joel Gehrke
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China will face “severe consequences” if it sends military aid to Russia, according to NATO’s top civilian and other Western officials.
“I will only limit myself to say that it has been made clear by several allies, also the biggest ally, that there will be severe consequences,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday. “And I think there’s no reason to go into details, but China knows that there’ll be severe consequences if they start to provide lethal aid to Russia.”
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Stoltenberg hosted top diplomats from around the world for a NATO foreign ministerial that showcased the growing coordination between U.S. allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. The envoys descended on Brussels for what could be their last gathering before Ukraine launches a high-stakes counteroffensive to liberate territory occupied by Russian forces, and the assembly featured a chorus of demands that Beijing do nothing to offset the military aid that Western states have provided to Kyiv.
“If [Russia] wins in Ukraine, it will send a dangerous message to authoritarian leaders around the world that they can achieve their goals through brute force, so our support to Ukraine remains critical and it is in our shared security interest,” Stoltenberg said. “At a time when Beijing and Moscow are pushing back against the rules-based international order, it is even more important that we continue to stand together.”
The trans-Atlantic gathering occurred amid a series of high-level meetings between Chinese and European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who are meeting Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping on separate trips this week.
“China has a moral duty to contribute to a fair peace. They cannot be siding with the aggressor,” European Union High Representative Josep Borrell said Tuesday during a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “We have been clear with China that its position on Russia’s atrocities and war crimes will determine the quality of our relations with Beijing.”
Xi set the tone for these exchanges with a dramatic visit to Moscow last month, replete with the pageantry of Russia and China’s vaunted “no limits” partnership and punctuated by a pointed message during the departure ceremony.
“Right now there are changes, the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years, and we are the ones driving these changes together,” Xi told Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Yet Xi stopped short of any public signal that he would provide military assistance to Russia, even though the conflict has forced Putin to depend on military supplies from smaller powers such as Iran and, reportedly, North Korea.
“So far, we have not been able to confirm any provision of lethal aid, but this is something we follow very closely,” Stoltenberg said. “Then, what we do know, is that China has not been able to condemn the brutal invasion of Ukraine. … And then we of course also know that China is propping up Russia’s economy. So this is, of course, of concern.”
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U.S. and European allies, for their part, have authorized an influx of main battle tanks and other heavy weaponry that they hope will turn the spring fighting season into a major inflection point for the war.
“We are committed to continue supporting Ukraine in its self-defense, and we will maintain the collective pressure on Russia to stop the widespread violations of international law,” Borrell said. “We are doing everything we can militarily, politically, and providing financial support to ensure that Ukraine prevails.”