China may soon be supplying arms to Russia, warns Antony Blinken

US will suffer 'consequences' if it escalates balloon incident, says Beijing

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China’s top diplomat against providing lethal aid to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rebuked him over an alleged Chinese spy balloon that heightened tensions between the world’s largest economies.

Blinken told Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi in Munich on Saturday evening that the US had information China was considering whether to give Russia assistance, possibly including guns and weapons, for the war in Ukraine. The US has warned China since the start of the invasion a year ago not to do so.

“The concern that we have now is, based on information we have, that they’re considering providing lethal support,” Blinken told CBS’s “Face the Nation” shortly after he met with Wang. “And we’ve made very clear to them that that could cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship.”

In their first in-person talks since the uproar over the balloon, Blinken told Wang that the craft’s entry into US airspace was an “irresponsible act that must never again occur” and warned China against helping Russia evade war sanctions, State Department spokesman Ned Price  said.

Consequently, China warned the US on Sunday it would “bear all the consequences” if it escalated the controversy over a Chinese balloon.

Beijing will “follow through to the end” in the event “the US insists on taking advantage of the issue”, the foreign ministry said in a statement. 

Beijing wants to meet EU leaders 

Meanwhile,  China and the European Union should prepare for a meeting of their leaders, Beijing’s top foreign policy official said, a sign of the nation’s efforts to court Europe amid worsening ties with the US.

Turkey visit

Antony Blinken arrived in southern Turkye on Sunday and set off on a tour of the earthquake disaster zone accompanied by his Turkish counterpart. 

Blinken is expected to discuss Sweden and Finland’s efforts to join Nato, which Turkeyis delaying, calling for Sweden in particular to tighten its approach to Kurdish rebels that Ankara considers terrorists. He will also inspect American aid efforts organised from the base and speak to members of USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team.

He will fly to Ankara later on Sunday for discussions with Turkish officials on Monday, including an anticipated meeting with President Erdogan.

Berlin’s cost of war

The Ukraine war will have cost the German economy around €160 billion ($171 billion), or some 4 per cent of its gross domestic output, in lost value creation by the end of the year, the head of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) said. That means GDP per capita in Europe’s largest economy will be €2,000 lower it would otherwise have been, DIHK chief Peter Adrian told the Rheinische Post.

German industry is set to pay about 40 per cent more for energy in 2023 than in 2021, before the war, a study by Allianz Trade said last month.