Top aides for the U.S. and Chinese governments are meeting in Rome today amid heightened tensions over the Russia-Ukraine war. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian today confirmed at the daily press briefing in Beijing that Ukraine issue is on agenda of the talks in Rome.
Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement late on Sunday, Yang Jiechi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, will meet with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Rome, Italy.
The statement further said the key issue of this meeting is to implement the important consensus reached by the Chinese and US heads of state in their virtual summit in November last year, adding that they will exchange views on China-US relations and international and regional issues of common concern. Before this, Chinese leaders including Chinese President have spoken to US and Russia.
According to media reports, a U.S. official said Russia asked China for military equipment to use in its military action in Ukraine, a request that heightened tensions about the ongoing war ahead of a Monday meeting in Rome between US and China. Zhao Lijian termed these remarks as disinformation and said the top priority now is that all parties should exercise restraint to deescalate and cool down the situation. We should promote diplomatic settlement rather than further escalate the tension, he further said.
Ahead of the talks, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan bluntly warned China to avoid helping Russia evade punishment from global sanctions that have hammered the Russian economy. The Biden administration is also accusing China of spreading Russian disinformation. Analysts say, in today’s talks with senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi, Sullivan will be pressing for “limits” in China’s relations with Russia what Beijing calls a friendship with “no limits.”
Sullivan and Yang last met for face-to-face talks in Switzerland which prepared the ground for talks between Biden and Xi in November.
