China is ‘not going to benefit economically’ as a consequence for supporting Russia’s aggression, President Biden said.
U.S. President Joe Biden on July 11 warned the Chinese communist regime that supporting Russia in its war with Ukraine would not result in economic benefits and could lead to penalties like raised tariffs and a loss of foreign investment.
“We have to make sure that Xi understands there’s a price to pay,” President Biden said at a press conference at the NATO summit in Washington, referring to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping.
The president said the CCP must understand that “if they are supplying Russia with information and capacity, along with working with North Korea and others to help Russia in armament, that they’re not going to benefit economically as a consequence of that, by getting the kind of investment they’re looking for.”
President Biden pointed to how his administration has raised tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles since China fails to “abide by international rules.”
“So guess what? They’re not going to be able to export their electric vehicles [to] the United States without a significant tariff,” the president said.
His comments come a day after NATO allies issued a stern critique of China, calling the communist regime a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war on Ukraine in a joint communique. The transatlantic alliance urged China to “cease all material and political support to Russia’s war effort,” particularly the transfer of dual-use materials such as weapon components, equipment, and raw materials.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said China’s supplies “are enabling Russia to build the missiles, to build the bombs, to build the aircraft, to build the weapons” which it uses to attack Ukraine, during a press conference on Wednesday.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, dismissed NATO’s criticism as “ill-motivated” that “makes no sense” during a daily briefing on Thursday. He further accused NATO of having been “blatantly smearing China to undermine China’s relations with Europe.”
President Biden also spoke about how China uses its market clout to influence other countries.
“Xi believes that China is a large enough market that they can entice any country, including European countries, to invest there in return for commitments from Europe to do A, B, C, or D, or not to do certain things,” he added.
President Biden last met with the CCP chief in San Francisco in November last year, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. The face-to-face meeting addressed several contentious issues, including military communication, fentanyl, and Taiwan.
Asked if he would be ready to deal with the CCP leader a few years from now, President Biden said, “I’m dealing with Xi right now,” adding that he had “direct contact” with him.
Beijing and Moscow are now enjoying a robust relationship. In February 2021, just weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, the Chinese leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin elevated their ties to a “no limits“ partnership.
In May, Mr. Putin met with the Chinese leader in China to reaffirm their strategic partnership, making his first overseas trip since he commenced a new six-year term as president in April. In response, the White House said it was not surprised by their strengthening Sino-Russian ties, saying that both countries want to “challenge the international rules-based order.”
In 2023, bilateral trade between the two countries rose to a record of $240.1 billion, up 25 percent from a year earlier, according to China’s official customs data.
‘This Is Dangerous’
Some lawmakers have applauded NATO’s allies for their decision to criticize China.
“I have long been calling attention to the growing unholy alliance between Russia and China. I am glad to see @NATO acknowledge the role that Chairman Xi has played in enabling Putin’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote in a July 11 post on social media platform X.
“The administration must do all that it can to impose costs on China for enabling this war,” Mr. McCaul added.
In June, Mr. McCaul sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to take action to disrupt the alliance between Moscow and Beijing. “Clearly, the sanctions designations your administration has levied against PRC entities thus far are insufficient,” Mr. McCaul wrote, using China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“The United States cannot stand idly by as the PRC works to undermine freedom and democracy in Ukraine and around the world,” Mr. McCaul wrote.
The Biden administration has sanctioned numerous Chinese entities since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine. The Commerce Department, for example, sanctioned 42 Chinese entities for allegedly supplying Russia’s defense industry with U.S.-origin integrated circuits.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the ranking member of the House Select Committee on the CCP, said that he was “glad NATO leaders have joined together to call out the CCP’s leadership,” in a July 11 social media post.
“The CCP has claimed that it is neutral in Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine, even as it’s been helping aid his efforts. This is dangerous,” Mr. Krishnamoorthi wrote.
Last year, Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia to become China’s top crude oil supplier. According to official Chinese customs data, Beijing imported about 107 million metric tons of crude oil from Russia in 2023, up 24 percent from 2022.
Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at the New York-based think tank Gatestone Institute, said in a July 11 social media post that NATO member states now “need to take action to stop the #Chinese enabling”
Asked at the NATO Public Forum on July 10 about what measures NATO can impose on China, Mr. Stoltenberg said that “it remains to be seen how far Allies are willing to go.”
“I strongly believe that if China continues, they cannot have it both ways. They cannot believe that again, have a kind of normal relationship with NATO Allies in North America and Europe, and then continue to fuel the war in Europe that constitutes the biggest security challenge for our security since the Second World War,” Mr. Stoltenberg said.
“So this is a challenge for the Alliance. Let’s see how far we’re willing to go as Allies.”
