Antony Blinken has warned Xi Jinping at a meeting in Beijing that the US and its European allies are ready to impose new sanctions on Chinese companies if they do not stop supplying material and equipment to the Russian arms industry.

There was no immediate response from Xi, but earlier on Friday China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said “disruptions” could reverse recent improvements in US-China relations and lead to a “downward spiral” of rivalry, confrontation and even conflict.

Speaking to reporters at the end of a three-day visit to China, Blinken, the US secretary of state, acknowledged there had been improvements in relations since a summit in San Francisco in November between Xi and Joe Biden.

MBFC
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