WASHINGTON, Va. (Reuters) – The United States and other countries may take action against Chinese companies and financial institutions over Beijing’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said. said Friday.
The Biden administration has increasingly warned about China’s support for Russia, issuing an executive order in December threatening punitive measures against financial institutions that help Russia evade Western sanctions.
Asked whether Chinese leaders and banks could work together, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters near Washington, Virginia, “Our primary focus is on aiding Russia. I think it’s a Chinese company that has been systematically involved.” I was targeted.
“We also investigated financial institutions in detail.”
The second-ranking State Department official said this at the beginning of a meeting with Japan and South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hyung-kyun. The three allies are stepping up cooperation in the face of shared concerns over China, North Korea and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Campbell said there was an urgent need for Europe and NATO countries to send a collective message of concern to China.
“Not only the United States but other countries will take some measures. This shows us our deep displeasure about what China is trying to do in its relations with Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine,” he said on Friday. spoke.
Campbell spoke with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Thursday and expressed U.S. concerns that China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base undermines European security, the State Department said.
Mr Campbell said the talks with the South Korean and Japanese sides would pave the way for a trilateral summit later this year. He said the talks were a “top priority”, although no date had been set yet.
In a joint statement from Friday’s meeting, the allies reaffirmed their commitment to leverage “joint capabilities to strengthen security and maintain peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific.”
The two leaders pledged to continue working closely to strengthen economic security, including through the Mineral Security Partnership project, which aims to reduce dependence on China and Russia for critical resources needed for high-tech applications. I promised.
The statement also said allies committed to “working more closely than ever to support Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, recovery, and efforts to hold Russia accountable for its actions.”
Mr Campbell welcomed “new diplomacy” between the two countries after the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea met for the first time in four years on Monday. Both U.S. allies said they had provided “very deep and honest reporting” on their tripartite talks with China. He also praised Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue and Defense Summit in Singapore. Here, the Asian leader alluded to “illegal, coercive and aggressive” actions by China in the disputed South China Sea.
Campbell hailed the speech as powerful and purposeful, but questioned whether the U.S.-Manila mutual defense agreement would be triggered if the Chinese Coast Guard were involved in the killing of a Filipino military personnel. He did not directly answer the reporter’s question, citing it as a “hypothesis.”
Clashes between the Philippines and China in Asia’s most disputed waters end in the past as Beijing lays claim to shallow waters in waters that Manila claims are well within its exclusive economic zone. It has become more tense and frequent over the year.
“I fundamentally believe that the United States and the Philippines are moving toward a closer relationship that can deepen our security partnership,” Campbell said.
Sign up here.
Reporting by David Brunnstrom; writing by David Ljunggren and Michael Martina. Editing: Doina Chiacu, Chizu Nomiyama, Cynthia Osterman
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles opens in a new tab
Purchase license rights
Source link
