US Secretary of State comments on China's behavior in the war

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told lawmakers that China is "very closely" watching how Washington and the world are responding to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, whose impact, he said, is being felt in Asia.

This was reported by Reuters.

Speaking at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow, Blinken said that if Russia is allowed to attack its neighbor with impunity, it will "open Pandora's box" for potential aggressors and lead to a "world of conflict".

"The stakes in Ukraine go far beyond Ukraine... I think the war has a profound impact in Asia, for example," Blinken said. He noted that Japan and South Korea are the main supporters of Ukraine in the region.

Russia's invasion has led to a debate about how the war will affect China's military thinking on Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing considers sovereign Chinese territory. Blinken noted in this context that China is closely monitoring the world's reaction to Russia's war.

"I think that if China is looking at this - and they are watching it very closely - they will draw conclusions about how the world is or is not uniting to confront this aggression," Blinken said.

The Chinese leader was on a visit to Moscow on Monday and Tuesday.

Author - Olena Madiak, 22/03/2023