Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Sunday that China will have to make “some tough decisions” regarding its relationship with Russia amid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Sherman said it remains to be seen how Russia’s invasion has impacted its relationship with China, one of the country’s closest allies.
“We saw Russia and China come closer together, certainly before the Olympics, putting out a long manifesto about their partnership and how they were going to move forward together. And at the same time, we’d seen China pretty uncomfortable with an invasion of a sovereign country,” said Sherman.
“I think the PRC watching very closely, has to make some tough decisions.”
Sherman noted that China has stated that territorial sovereignty is key, and said that she hoped China would stand in agreement with a country’s right to decide its own political future. She also acknowledged the impact that Putin’s attack on Ukraine has already had.
“You know, in two weeks Vladimir Putin undid 30 years of economic development,” she said.
Earlier this month, it was reported that China had asked Russia to hold off on its invasion of Ukraine until after the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Last week, the Kremlin accused the U.S. and Ukraine of developing chemical and biological weapons. Soon after, Beijing amplified these accusations, claiming to have evidence against the U.S.
U.S. and Chinese officials are set to meet this week in Rome and will focus on “efforts to manage the competition between our two countries and discuss the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on regional and global security.”