Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:
U.S. relieved as China appears to heed warnings on Russia
Tue, May 3, 2022, 2:06 AM
By Steve Holland, Trevor Hunnicutt and David Brunnstrom
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two months after warning that Beijing
appeared poised to help Russia in its fight against Ukraine, senior U.S.
officials say they have not detected overt Chinese military and economic
support, a welcome development in the tense U.S.-China relationship.
U.S. officials told Reuters in recent days they remain wary about China's long-standing support for Russia in general, but that the military and economic support that they worried about has not come to pass, at least for now. The relief comes at a pivotal time.
President Joe Biden is preparing for a trip to Asia later this month dominated by how to deal with the rise of China and his administration is soon to release his first national security strategy about the emergence of China as a great power.
"We have not seen the PRC provide direct military support to Russia’s war on Ukraine or engage in systematic efforts to help Russia evade our sanctions," a Biden administration official told Reuters, referring to the People's Republic of China.
"We continue to monitor for the PRC and any other country that might provide support to Russia or otherwise evade U.S. and partner sanctions."
As well as steering clear of directly backing Russia's war effort, China has avoided entering new contracts between its state oil refiners and Russia, despite steep discounts. In March its state-run Sinopec Group suspended talks about a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia.
Last month, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations hailed China's abstentions on U.N. votes to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "win," underscoring how Beijing's enforced balancing act between Russia and the West may be the best outcome for Washington.
Trade volume between Russia and China also jumped in the first quarter, and the two declared a "no limits" partnership in February.
On Monday, Beijing's Washington embassy issued a 30-page newsletter accusing the United States of spreading "falsehoods" to discredit China over Ukraine, including through a March press leak saying Russia had sought Chinese military help. The embassy noted that U.S. officials had since said they had seen no evidence of China providing such support.
Biden himself has not spoken of China helping Russia since telling reporters in Brussels March 24 that in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he "made sure he understood the consequences."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week China is dealing with the "significant reputational risk" of being Russia's ally and that "for now we're not seeing significant support from China for Russia's military actions."
Biden is to visit Tokyo and Seoul in what will be his first trip to Asia as president - one that won't include a stop in China. He'll meet with Indian and Australian leaders too, during a 'Quad' meeting in Tokyo.
China has made Russia a key part of its foreign policy strategy to counter the West. Biden aides were worried Xi was planning to provide direct support to Russian President Vladimir Putin as his campaign in Ukraine faced fierce setbacks, one U.S. official said.
They were heartened this has not happened so far, but Washington and its allies are continuing to closely monitor the level of assistance, the official said.
"There has been consistent messaging that if China does so it will face severe consequences. It appears that so far, the Chinese have not. It is feasible that the Chinese planned to provide military assistance and changed their minds," she said.
However U.S. officials remain concerned about China's refusal to condemn Russia's actions in Ukraine and what they say is its continued parroting of Russian disinformation.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on April 21 that Beijing had "repeatedly drawn false equivalencies between Russia's war of aggression and Ukraine's self-defensive actions."
She added: "Let's be clear, China's already doing things that do not help this situation."
Translation
華盛頓（路透社）- 在警告北京似乎準備幫助俄羅斯對抗烏克蘭兩個月後，美國高級官員表示，他們沒有發現中國公開的軍事和經濟支持，這是緊張的美中關係中的一個可喜進展。
美國官員最近幾天告訴路透社，他們總體上對中國長期以來對俄羅斯的支持抱警惕態度，但他們擔心的軍事和經濟支持至少目前還沒有實現。正值關鍵時刻鬆一口氣。
拜登總統正準備本月晚些時候的亞洲之行，主題是如何應對中國的崛起，他的政府即將發布他的第一份關於中國崛起為大國的國家安全戰略。
一位拜登政府官員對路透社說： “我們沒有看到中國為俄羅斯對烏克蘭的戰爭提供直接的軍事支持，也沒有參與系統性的努力來幫助俄羅斯逃避我和拍檔們的製裁”, 他指的是中華人民共和國。
“我們將繼續監視中國,和任何其他可能向俄羅斯提供支持或以其他方式規避美國和合作夥伴制裁的國家。”
除了避免直接支持俄羅斯的戰爭努力外，中國還避免在其國有煉油廠與俄羅斯之間簽訂新合同，儘管折扣幅度很大。 3 月，其國營的中國石化集團暫停了有關在俄羅斯進行重大石化投資和天然氣營銷企業的談判。
上個月，美國駐聯合國特使稱讚中國在聯合國投票中棄權譴責俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭是 “勝利” ，凸顯北京在俄羅斯和西方之間採用平衡行動, 对華盛頓來說可能是最佳結果。
儘管如此，中國拒絕譴責俄羅斯在烏克蘭的行動，並批評了西方對莫斯科的全面製裁。
俄羅斯和中國之間的貿易量在第一季度也大幅增長，兩國在 2 月份宣佈建立“全方位”夥伴關係。
週一，北京駐華盛頓大使館發布了一份 30 頁的時事通訊，指責美國在烏克蘭問題上散佈“謊言”以詆毀中國，包括通過 3 月份的新聞洩密，稱俄羅斯已尋求中國的軍事幫助。大使館指出，美國官員此後表示，他們沒有證據看到中國有提供幫助。
自從拜登 3 月 24 日在布魯塞爾告訴記者，在與中國國家主席習近平通電話時，他已 “確保習近平了解後果”, 之後他本人就沒有談到中國幫助俄羅斯。
美國國務卿布林肯上週告訴參議院外交關係委員會，中國正在處理成為俄羅斯盟友的“重大聲譽風險”，“目前我們沒有看到中國對俄羅斯的軍事行動的大力支持”。
拜登將訪問東京和首爾，這將是他作為總統的首次亞洲之行 - 其中不包括在中國停留。在東京舉行的 “四方”會議期間，他還將與印度和澳大利亞領導人會面。
中國已將俄羅斯作為其對抗西方的外交政策戰略的關鍵部分。一位美國官員說，拜登的助手擔心習近平正計劃向俄羅斯總統普京提供直接支持，因為他在烏克蘭的行動面臨嚴重挫折。
這位官員說，他們感到鼓舞的是，到目前為止還沒有發生這種情況，但華盛頓及其盟友正在繼續密切關注援助的水平。
美國德國馬歇爾基金的亞洲專家 Bonnie Glaser 表示，迄今為止，美國和歐盟的嚴厲警告已見成效。
她說:“一直有持續訊息稱，如果中國這樣做，它將面臨嚴重的後果。到目前為止，中國似乎還沒有這樣做。中國可能曾計劃提供軍事援助但改變主意”。
然而，美國官員仍然對中國拒絕譴責俄羅斯在烏克蘭的行動, 以及他們所說的是繼續重覆俄羅斯的虛假信息而感到擔憂。
美國副國務卿 Wendy Sherman 4 月 21 日表示，北京 “一再將俄羅斯的侵略戰爭, 錯誤地與烏克蘭的自衛行動相提並論” 。
她補充說： “讓我們明確一點，中國已經在做出無助於現況的事。”
So, after warning Beijing not to
help Russia in its fight against Ukraine, senior U.S. officials say they have
not detected overt Chinese military and economic support. As China has made
Russia a key part of its foreign policy strategy to counter the West, how to
avoid helping Russia openly yet maintaining a good relation is a test to the wisdom
of China.
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