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U.S. President Joe Biden said European allies would curtail their investment in China if Beijing continues its “indirect help to Russia,” after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared that China is a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Chinese President Xi Jinping should understand that “there’s a price to pay for undercutting the Pacific basin as well as Europe, and it relates to Russia and dealing with Ukraine,” Biden told the press at the conclusion of NATO’s summit in Washington.
Biden clarified that China was not directly supplying weapons to Russia, but warned it would not benefit economically “if they are supplying information and capacity.”
NATO’s Stoltenberg highlighted China’s “no-limits” support for Russia’s defense industrial base, saying “China cannot continue to fuel the largest military conflict in Europe without this impacting Beijing’s interests.”
China said NATO’s claim that China is responsible for the Ukraine crisis is “ill-motivated” and undermines Beijing’s ties with Europe. “We firmly oppose the U.S. spreading disinformation about so-called China’s support for Russia’s defense industry,” said China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.
Biden’s press conference, his first solo media interaction in months, was closely watched amid concerns over his fitness and growing calls for him to withdraw from the presidential race.
To note, he had some verbal stumbles at the NATO gathering (accidentally calling Kamala Harris as former President Donald Trump, and introducing Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin”). At the press conference, Biden insisted he’s the most qualified person to run for president.
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