Managing China-Russia Relationship Will Be Key Task for Trump Admin, US Official Says

The official, speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Peru on Nov. 16, noted that the U.S. has “rolled out hundreds of sanctions” against Chinese entities over the last several years for supporting Russia. That has been a “key topic of conversation” in many U.S.-China talks, and the U.S. is trying to limit cooperation between Moscow and Beijing “as much as we can,” the official said.

“It’s not going to stop,” the official added. “I think that is going to be a continuing topic of conversation, not just in this bilateral meeting, but a task for the next administration as well -- how we continually work to try to limit that support for the Russian defense industrial base and, by extension, the war in Ukraine.”

The official noted that the Biden administration still hasn’t found evidence that China is providing “lethal assistance” to Russia, although Chinese companies are continuing to send items that are crucial for the Russian defense industrial base. “I think we look at the trade figures between the two countries, and we do not see a reduction in the trade of concern,” the person said. “There is much more that we seek, and there are actions we’d like to see them take.”

The official said they expect that to be “part of the conversation” between Biden and Xi on Nov. 16, which will be the last meeting between the two leaders while Biden is president.

The official also declined to say how and whether Biden will ask Trump to manage the relationship with Beijing, but said the incoming administration likely will face many similar challenges. “This is a tough, complicated relationship between the U.S. and China,” the official said, “and so whatever the next administration decides, they are going to need to find ways to manage that tough, complicated relationship.”