There will be “consequences” if China sends weapons to Russia for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, German chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned in an interview with CNN.
US officials have warned recently that China could step off the sidelines and begin providing arms and ammunition to Moscow.
Asked by CNN if he could imagine sanctioning China if it did aid Russia, Mr Scholz replied: “I think it would have consequences, but we are now in a stage where we are making clear that this should not happen, and I’m relatively optimistic that we will be successful with our request in this case, but we will have to look at (it) and we have to be very, very cautious.”
The German chancellor did not elaborate on the nature of the consequences.
Germany has Europe’s biggest economy, and China has been its single biggest trading partner in recent years.
For context: Washington and its allies have said in recent weeks that
China is considering providing weapons to Russia, which Beijing
denies.
Aides to President Joe Biden have not publicly provided evidence.
Last week, a senior EU official said it would be an absolute
“red line” if China provided weapons to Russia.
