Seven hours of "deep communication" in Rome between China and the US with the war in Ukraine in the background

• Direct Breaking news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

• War in Ukraine The United States warns its allies that China is willing to support Russia militarily

The first time

and

sat at the same table was a year ago in Anchorage, Alaska.

The US national security adviser and the top Chinese diplomat were the protagonists of the first face-to-face meeting between the two world powers with

in the White House.

The relationship did not start off on the right foot.

That meeting was very rough.

What was going to be an exchange of greetings open to the press, accompanied by a four-minute photo session, ended with a bitter exchange of reproaches and accusations that lasted more than an hour in front of the cameras.

After Alaska, Biden and President

went seven months without direct communication.

A phone call in September broke the ice.

A month later, Sullivan and Yang defused the tension with another more subdued meeting in Zurich, this time behind closed doors.

The war in Ukraine has once again brought Biden's right-hand man face to face with Xi Jinping's shadow in foreign policy, who is also one of the prominent members of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Apart from the Russian invasion,

This time it was a luxurious hotel in Rome where Sullivan and Yang were together on Monday afternoon.

Seven hours of meeting that ended with a concise communiqué from the White House of 82 words and with a longer sweetened reading of the Chinese part, collected by the state agency Xinhua, in which

despite to be, according to US officials, the central axis of the conversation.

"Both sides had sincere, in-depth and constructive communication on China-U.S. relations as well as international and regional issues of common concern," the Xinhua statement read.

For Washington, in the words of a senior official who spoke to the media on condition of anonymity, the talks in Rome were "intense" and Sullivan warned Yang that

ease Western sanctions.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine entered its third week, envoys from Beijing and Washington were trying to bring their positions closer together in order to row in the same direction.

But before seeing their faces, the day had heated up after the most important US media published, according to their sources in the Public Administration, that Russia had asked China for military help.

The information was publicly denied hours later from Beijing.

In the face-off in Rome, Sullivan was expected to pressure China not to help Russia by easing the impact of sanctions.

But another more forceful news broke while the meeting was taking place: the United States warned its allies that China is willing to support Russia militarily.

The Asian giant, after the US, is

Last week, during the annual meeting of the Chinese Legislature, Beijing, which has traditionally been a buyer of weapons from Russia, announced that military spending will increase by 7.1% (last year it grew by 6.8%) to 1 .45 billion yuan (217,000 million euros).

According to the

the US told its allies that Russia has requested

including long-range surface-to-air missiles, drones and armored vehicles.

The

information adds that US cables to allies in Europe and Asia do not make it clear whether China has already sent any help or simply told Moscow that it would provide support.

A new Chinese reading of the meeting says Yang warned the United States not to misunderstand Beijing's stance on the war.

"The Chinese side resolutely opposes any words and actions that spread false information or distort and discredit China's position on Ukraine," Yang said.

and the fulfillment of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China is committed to promoting peace talks."

This Tuesday, the CCP-controlled

newspaper publishes an editorial in which it accuses Washington of threatening Beijing: "It is an old American diplomatic tactic to use disinformation and intimidation to secure a favorable position in negotiations. Washington it wants China to dance to its tune.

yet it wants to exploit the entire world to expand its own strategic interests."

All these notes come amid the unknowns raised by the ambiguous role of Beijing, which continues to cling to its complicated balancing act.

The Chinese government

but has not supported the Russian attack either.

Beijing emphasizes the territorial integrity of all states, defends Ukraine's sovereignty, but repeats over and over again that it considers

into Eastern Europe to be legitimate.

The Asian giant does not come out of this contradiction.

He is sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but the official narrative avoids mentioning that there is a war.

Beijing's role as a possible mediator accelerated last week.

Although there are no real signs yet that it is active in that purpose.

Yang, after his meeting in Rome with Sullivan, called on the international community to "jointly support the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine."

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

• China

• Ukraine

• Russia

• United States

• Xi Jinping

• NATO

• Asia

• Europe

• War Ukraine Russia

China and RussiaThe "bromance" with which Putin and Xi Jinping create their new world order

LeadersPaul Mason: "We will see things even worse than the bombing of civilians in Ukraine"

War in Ukraine Putin calls Xi Jinping and assures him that he is willing to "negotiate" with Ukraine

See links of interest

• Last News

• time change

• Translator

• Work calendar 2022

• Default Russia

• what is the kremlin

• Lazio - Venice

• Majorca - Real Madrid

• Crystal Palace-Manchester City

• Indian Wells: Rafael Nadal - Daniel Evans, live