US seeks China pressure on Russia to end Ukraine war as it weighs economic options against Beijing

‘China cannot evade responsibility, given its relationship with Russia, for speaking more clearly to them,’ says US national security adviser ahead of Nato summit

Push comes as Biden administration adds 36 companies to trade blacklist, including accusations against five firms in China for supporting Russia’s war effort

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US President Joe Biden walks with King Felipe VI of Spain at the Royal Palace in Madrid ahead of the NATO summit on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:16am, 29 Jun 2022Updated: 6:09am, 29 Jun 2022

Washington wants China to pressure Russia into ending the war in Ukraine, but that does not mean the US will be soft on Beijing when it comes to lifting trade sanctions or extending other economic benefits, a senior US national security official said on Tuesday.

US President Joe Biden has kept in place tens of billions of US dollars’ worth of punitive trade sanctions on Chinese imports imposed by former president Donald Trump under a US-China trade war that started in 2018. Recently, however, the Biden administration has suggested it could reduce some of these as a way to ease US inflation.

“There’s no connection between our conversations with China on the Ukraine war – Russia’s war in Ukraine and the issue of tariffs – and a potential set of steps the United States would take on, vis-à-vis China trade,” said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

“The president wants to be sure that he’s put together the right approach before he moves out with it. I don’t think he feels that there is a particular deadline for it,” he added, according to a White House readout. “Getting it right is more important than just doing it fast.”

Speaking en route to a Nato security alliance summit in Spain taking place from Tuesday to Thursday, Sullivan said there was little evidence China was supporting Russia militarily or was violating in wholesale fashion sanctions imposed on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine.

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