BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says there would be “consequences” if China sent weapons to Russia for Moscow’s war against Ukraine, but he is quite optimistic Beijing will refrain from doing so.
Scholz’s comments came in a CNN interview that aired Sunday, two days after meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington.
US officials have recently warned that China could go out of its way and start supplying Moscow with weapons and ammunition. Before his trip, Scholz called on Beijing to refrain from sending weapons and instead use its influence to pressure Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
Asked by CNN if he could imagine sanctioning China if it helped Russia, Scholz said: “I think there would be consequences, but now we’re at a stage where we’re making it clear that that shouldn’t happen, and I “I’m relatively optimistic.” . that we will be successful with our question in this case, but we will have to look at it and we have to be very, very careful.
He did not elaborate on the nature of the consequences. Germany has Europe’s largest economy, and China has been its largest trading partner in recent years.
Back in Germany on Sunday, Scholz was asked after his cabinet met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen whether he had received concrete evidence from the United States that China was considering arms deliveries and whether he would support sanctions against Beijing if this would help Russia. with the weapon.
via the Associated Press
“We all agree that there should be no arms deliveries, and the Chinese government has stated that it will not deliver any,” the chancellor replied. “That’s what we’re asking for and that’s what we’re looking at.”
He did not address the issue of sanctions.
Von der Leyen said that “so far we have no evidence for this, but we have to respect it every day.”
He said that the European Union will sanction China for providing military aid to Russia “is a hypothetical question that can only be answered if it becomes reality and reality.”
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