The US has warned China that “actions speak louder than words”, after Beijing continued to offer tacit support to Russia while also showing willingness to help broker peace in Ukraine . In Vilnius on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken equated China’s support for Russia with its alleged economic coercion of Lithuania after a row over Taiwan . “Beijing talks a lot about the importance of upholding the international order, stability, and respecting sovereignty,” Blinken said. “But from its coercion of Vilnius, to its failure thus far to condemn Moscow’s flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine today and in 2014, Beijing’s actions are speaking much louder than its words.” The assessment comes amid increased international scrutiny of China’s position on the worsening crisis in Ukraine. The Russian military continues to lay siege to residential areas from the ground and air, sending the death toll soaring and forcing more than 1.7 million Ukrainians to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. China, however, has refused to condemn the invasion and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has described relations with Russia as “rock solid”. “Relations between China and Russia will not be influenced by any third party,” Wang said during his annual press conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress on Monday. “[Sino-Russian relations] contribute to world peace, stability and development.” In some of the strongest public words of support for Moscow since the invasion began 11 days ago, Wang said the “strategic partnership” would continue to expand “no matter how sinister the international situation is”. Nonetheless, Wang said: “China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in persuading peace and promoting talks, and is willing to work with the international community to carry out necessary mediation when needed.” Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in London, said the difference between rhetoric and real policy was very clear. “Rock solid is also what Xi Jinping told Putin, mediating is what Wang Yi says we can do, but actually we aren’t doing anything about it,” Tsang said. “If you have a rock solid relationship you have a lot of scope to play diplomacy, we haven’t seen that.” As the West pushes them together, Xi and Putin show up for each other In Brussels on Monday, EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano refused to be drawn on China’s backing for Russia’s geopolitical aims on the one hand and its offer to help broker peace on the other. Instead, Stano repeated demands for Beijing to use its influence to negotiate a ceasefire. “In the context of Putin’s war against Ukraine, the key is to press Russia to stop this aggression, this unprecedented attack against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a country,” he said. “China has the potential to reach out to Moscow … and we would like China to use its influence to press for a ceasefire and to make Russia stop the brutal, unprecedented shelling and killing of civilians in Ukraine.” When asked whether China’s support for Moscow would affect EU-China ties, Stano said the relationship was “multifaceted and complex”. “We hope that in these testing times, each country which puts emphasis on respect for rules and international principles and international order, will do its best to prevent these atrocities. So this is the framework of our relationship with China and our engagement right now,” he said. The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, “has been and will be in touch with his Chinese counterpart to deliver this [message]” and to discuss “joint actions we could do in order to make this unjustified aggression stop”, Stano added. EU officials have been reluctant to directly criticise China, even as US counterparts have publicly cajoled them to do so. “We have to acknowledge that there are elements of the Russia-China relationship that are even playing out as we speak that are worrisome and regrettable,” Kurt Campbell, the US’ top Asia-Pacific official, told his EU counterpart Gunnar Wiegand during a webinar last week. “We’re going to have to be honest and direct about that as we go forward.” In Vilnius, alongside Blinken on Monday, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis went that step further, directly comparing the motives behind Russian invasion of Ukraine with China’s coercion of Lithuania. “Both cases are about defending a similar principle. One power is challenging the rules-based order when it comes to the borders of other countries, when it comes to geopolitics, when it comes to the security architecture of one might say Europe,” Landsbergis said. “The other top power is trying to bend globally agreed rules of trade and is trying to use trade as a political instrument, in some cases, even as a weapon to force countries to change their course.”