In a 2-hour long conversation, the US President Joe Biden explained to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it continues to attack Ukraine.
The White House said in a readout of the call about President Biden’s efforts to prevent and then respond to the invasion, including by imposing costs on Russia.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the vast majority of the nearly two hours were spent with the president outlining the views of the United States, its allies and partners on this crisis, including a detailed overview of efforts to prevent and then respond to the invasion, how we got here, steps we’ve taken, where we’ve gone and why.
According to another senior official, the conversation was direct, substantive and detailed. The two leaders were discussing Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, as well as the implications of the crisis for US-China relations and the international order, the official said.
Biden shared with Xi his assessment of the situation, and underscored his support for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis, the official said, adding that Biden described the US’ assessment of Putin’s actions and his miscalculations. He also described the unity of the United States and its allies and partners, the unprecedented coordination with its European, NATO, and Indo-Pacific partners, and the overwhelming global unity and condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the support for Ukraine, said the official.
During the call, Biden stressed concerns that Russia is spreading disinformation about biological weapons in Ukraine as a pretext for a false-flag operation and underscored concerns about echoing such disinformation.
