German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said there is no evidence yet that China is planning to send lethal weapons to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine, accusations recently made by the United States to Beijing.
"We all agree that there should be no arms shipments, and the Chinese government has also announced that it will not send any of them. This is what we are asking, and this is what we are observing," Schultz said - at a press conference with von der Leyen in the eastern German town of Messeburg on Sunday.
The President of the European Commission supported the German Chancellor's remarks and said, "So far we have no evidence of doing so, but we have to monitor it every day."
When asked about the possibility of imposing sanctions on China if it provided Russia with such shipments, Von der Leyen said that this is a hypothetical question at this moment.
And last February, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that China was considering supplying weapons to Russia, warning Beijing that such a step would cause a serious problem.
Blinken added at the time, "We have received information that China is considering supplying weapons to Russia. I do not think that Beijing wants to face more international isolation."
The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying that President Joe Biden's administration is considering publishing intelligence it believes reveals China's intention to send weapons to support the Russian war in Ukraine.
The same warning was repeated by the Secretary-General of NATO, who also confirmed the detection of "signs that China is studying and may plan to send weapons to Russia."
In turn, the Chinese Foreign Ministry - in response to Blinken's statements - called on the United States to stop publishing misleading information.
On the first anniversary of the Russian war on Ukraine - which agreed on February 24 - China called for a comprehensive ceasefire, a proposal rejected by Kiev unless it included Russia's withdrawal of its forces, and a number of Western countries questioned the Chinese proposal.
Beijing has urged gradual de-escalation, warned against the use of nuclear weapons, and said conflict benefits no one.