President Joe Biden is set to warn Chinese President Xi Jinping today (Friday) that Beijing will pay dearly if it supports Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The two world most powerful leaders will communicate virtually which has been scheduled for 9:AM Eastern time (1300 GMT).

Biden had already warned the Chinese government officials privately and openly that a Beijing support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine will lead to an unpleasant disaster for Beijing.

Is Xi in support of the crisis?

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on Thursday stated, “Biden will make clear that China will bear responsibility for any actions it takes to support Russia’s aggression, and we will not hesitate to impose costs. “We’re concerned that they’re considering directly assisting Russia with military equipment to use in Ukraine,” he added.

The US government is concerned that the Chinese President Xi  will help Russia bypass the strict sanctions laid down against them due to the invasion of Ukraine. The invasion of Ukraine which took place on the 24th of February 2022 is now in its fourth week. It has led to the death of hundreds of civilians and has led city areas in ruin.

The scheduled conversation between the two leaders is their first since their last one in November 2021.  However given the new development, it seems the conversation between the leaders might be loaded with tension.

The US Department of State has said that the Chinese government is yet to condemned the Russian’s military operations in Ukraine. This has led the US government to view China has a strong partner fully in support of the Russian’s military operations in Ukraine.

Joe Biden has threatened to impose sanctions on China if it helps Russia with the ongoing military operations in Ukraine; though the United States is yet to decide on the sanctions. This comes has the Biden administration is yet to show concrete evidence of the alleged claim that the Chinese President Xi  has signaled a readiness to help Russia with more military weapons.

It must be noted however that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is not the only demanding topic to be discussed by the leaders.  The two leaders will also discuss the Iran nuclear talks, North Korea’s missile launches and Taiwan.