US considers intel release on China-Russia arms transfer
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WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The Biden administration is considering releasing now-classified, intelligence it believes shows that China is weighing whether to supply weapons to support Russia for its war effort in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Following the Munich Security Conference, Secretary of State Antony Blinken publicly delivered a warning over the weekend, saying in an interview with CBS News that China is seriously exploring supplying arms to Russia.
The warning comes ahead of Friday’s United Nations Security Council meeting, which will mark one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. It also follows a number of closed-door appeals to China coordinated among NATO allies, which culminated in Blinken’s warning to Wang Yi, China’s senior foreign policy official, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to descriptions from people familiar with the sit-down, the Blinken-Wang meeting ended with no sign of common ground on key issues, the WSJ reported. One of those sources described it to the Wall Street Journal as “tense,” with the recent shootdown of a Chinese surveillance balloon overshadowing the conversation.
Administration officials don’t yet have an indication that China has decided to move forward on sending Moscow weaponry. Still, Blinken said this week it would be a “serious problem” should Beijing follow through.
China’s foreign minister said Thursday that any potential intelligence on arms transfer by China to Russia that the U.S. plans to release is just speculation.
“As for the so-called intel, this is just speculation and smearing against China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular briefing.
Throughout the conflict, China has cautiously weighed the pros and cons of directly aiding Russia. But a year into the war, Beijing now seems increasingly concerned that Russia — one of its closest allies — is teetering toward something that could approximate a loss in Ukraine.
Amid his warning, Blinken urged Chinese leaders not to provide Russian President Vladimir Putin with weapons. Several key U.S. allies continue to push China not to give Russia weapons as well, the WSJ reported.
Until now, China has provided some material help to Russia but has not gone so far as to supply weapons. It would be a significant shift from China, and a tightening of the China-Russia relationship in a way that hasn’t been seen yet.
While it is rare, this is not the first time de-classified sensitive intel was released to the public regarding an international issue.
One year ago, as Russia prepared to invade Ukraine, the Kremlin denied the country was prepping troops for an invasion. Blinken spoke to the council and shared U.S. intelligence that pointed toward Russia’s invasion.
Blinken will also address the Security Council Friday to mark the anniversary of the Ukraine war.
The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press contributed to this report.