Andrea Shalal and Michael Martina

WASHINGTON (Reuters). -The U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet in Rome Monday with Yang Jiechi China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi to discuss the consequences for Beijing if Moscow evades broad sanctions regarding its involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.

Sullivan stated to CNN that China believed Russia knew of Russia’s plans for action in Ukraine. But Beijing may not know the whole extent.

He said that Washington would be closely watching to determine whether Beijing was providing economic and material support for Russia. If this happened, Washington would take appropriate action.

“We are communicating to Beijing directly that we will definitely have consequences for large scale sanctions evasion attempts or support to Russia in order to fill them,” Sullivan explained. “We won’t let that happen, and will stop there being a safety net for Russia against economic sanctions from other countries around the globe.”

Senior Biden Administration officials stated that the conflict in Ukraine and the impact it has on global security will be a topic during Sullivan’s meeting. Yang was referring to China’s recent moves to “align itself with Russia” to further their vision for the future world order.

This meeting had been planned for some time.

The source said that no specific results were anticipated from the meeting. He spoke on condition of anonymity.

Wang Huiyao, head of a Beijing think tank and adviser to the Chinese government, warned of “an escalatory spiral” in a column published in the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/opinion/china-russia-ukraine.html on Sunday, and said China was “uniquely positioned to act as a neutral mediator between a Western-supported Ukraine and Russia” to end the war.

“Unpalatable as some in the West may find the idea, it is time to offer the Russian leader an offramp with China’s help,” Wang wrote.

As the Ukrainians try to defend themselves against Russian bombing, the United States said Saturday that they would buy additional weapons in excess of $200 million.

Moscow called the Russian attack a “special army operation” and it has left thousands of civilians trapped in cities. 2.5 million Ukrainians fled to neighbouring countries.

United States of America and its allies have put in place unprecedented sanctions against Russia. They also banned Russia’s energy imports. While providing billions to Ukraine for military and humanitarian support, they are imposing sweeping and unimaginable sanctions.

They appealed together to China and Gulf countries, as well as other nations that failed to condemn Russia’s invasion to help them in isolating Russia.

China is a major trading partner to Russia. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for maximum restraint in Ukraine last week after a virtual meeting between Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, and Emmanuel Macron, France’s President.

Xi was also concerned about the effects of sanctions on global finance and energy supplies. This is in spite of growing evidence that Western sanctions may be limiting China’s access to Russian oil.

Hu Xijin was the former editor-in chief of China’s state-backed Chinese Global Times newspaper. He stated on Twitter (NYSE 🙂 “If Sullivan believes he can convince China to join sanctions against Russia, he is disappointed.”

Kristalina Georgieva, International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director, said last week that China could miss its growth goal of 5.5% this year due to the crisis. She stated that she has spoken to China’s top central banking official and expects Russia to put more pressure on Russia in order for the conflict to be ended.

Sullivan is expected to visit Rome with Luigi Mattiolo (diplomatic advisor to Mario Draghi), to discuss the coordination of the international response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war of choice.

Friday’s tension on Russia was intensified by the United States of America and Group of Seven advanced countries. They demanded that Russia be removed from its “most-favored nation” status. This would give them an opportunity to raise tariffs for Russian goods.

In 2020, Russia’s trade accounted for 46% of its economy. This includes a lot of business with China. China is Russia’s largest export destination.