Blinken meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping

>> WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN OVERSEAS, THOUGH, WITH A HIGH STAKES MEETING BETWEEN THE SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN AND CHINA'S PRESIDENT JINGPING THIS MORNING. IN THE EFFORT TO STABILIZE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES. WHILE SPEAKING IN BEIJING EARLIER, SECRETARY BLINKEN URGED CHINA TO END ITS SUPPORT OF RUSSIA'S WAR IN UKRAINE. >> MY DISCUSSIONS TODAY, I REITERATED OUR SERIOUS CONCERN ABOUT THE PRC PROVIDING COMPONENTS THAT ARE POWERING RUSSIA'S BRUTAL WAR OF AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE. CHINA'S THE TOP SUPPLIER OF MACHINE TOOLS, MICROELECTRONICS AND THINGS CRITICAL TO MAKE MUNITIONS AND ROCKET PROPELLANTS AND OTHER THINGS RUSSIA IS USING IT RAMP UP THE INDUSTRIAL BASE. THE BASE CHURNING OUT ROCKETS, DRONES, TANKS AND OTHER WEAPONS THAT PRESIDENT PUTIN IS USING TO INVADE A SOVEREIGN COUNTRY, TO DEMOLISH THE POWER GRID AND OTHER CIVILIAN INFRASTRUCTURE, TO KILL INNOCENT CHILDREN, WOMEN AND MEN. RUSSIA WOULD STRUGGLE TO SUSTAIN ITS ASSAULT ON UKRAINE WITHOUT CHINA'S SUPPORT. IN MY MEETINGS WITH NATO ALLIES EARLIER THIS MONTH AND WITH OUR G7 PARTNERS JUST LAST WEEK, I HEARD THAT SAME MESSAGE. FUELING RUSSIA'S DEFENSE BASE NOT ONLY THREATENS UKRAINIAN SECURITY, IT THREATENS EUROPEAN SECURITY. BEIJING CANNOT ACHIEVE BETTER RELATIONS WITH EUROPE WHILE SUPPORTING THE GREATEST THREAT TO EUROPEAN SECURITY SINCE THE END OF THE COLD WAR. >> SECRETARY BLINKEN ALSO HELD TALKS THIS MORNING WITH CHINA'S FOREIGN MINISTER WHO WARNED RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES COULD SLIP INTO, QUOTE, A DOWNWARD SPIRAL. JOINING US NOW WITH MORE ON THE SECRETARY'S VISIT IS THE CBS NEWS NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER OLIVIA. >>> OLIVIA, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MEETING WITH JINGPING. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THESE TWO MEN WOULD MEET. HE'S THE HEAD OF STATE AND HE'S MEETING WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE. >> AND IT'S STANDARD PRACTICE FOR THE CHINESE NOT TO CONFIRM UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE THIS TYPE OF MEETING WOULD HAPPEN BUT IT IS THE SECOND TIME THE SECRETARY HAS SAT DOWN WITH THE CHINESE PRESIDENT AND TALKED ABOUT THE ISSUES HE PRAISED OVER THE TWO MEETINGS HE HAD IN SHANGHAI AND BEIJING. A FEW THINGS. BLINKEN SAID HE HAD CURVED PRECURSOR CHEMICALS. WHERE THERE WAS PROGRESS MADE BY THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT, BUT MORE STILL NEEDED TO BE DONE AND IT NEEDED TO BE SUSTAINED. ANOTHER THING HE RAISED WAS PEOPLE TO PEOPLE EXCHANGES SAYING THAT THE NUMBER OF AMERICAN STUDENTS STUDYING IN CHINA HAD FALLEN FROM 15,000 A DECADE AGO TO JUST ABOUT 800 NOW AND THAT IT WOULD BE OF BENEFIT TO BOTH COUNTRIES TO BOOST THAT FIGURE. HE SAID HE HAD PRESSED BEIJING TO TAKE A MORE PRO-ACTIVE ROLE IN PRESSURING IRAN TO STOP FUELING INSTABILITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NOTABLY, AS YOU JUST PLAYED THERE, I THINK THE NEWEST AND MOST SIGNIFICANT ITEM ON THE AGENDA THIS TIME AROUND WAS THIS INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE THAT THE U.S. HAS OF CHINA HELPING WITH THE WAR EFFORT IN UKRAINE. MAINLY BY EXPORTING ALL THESE CRITICAL COMPONENTS FOR PRODUCING THINGS THAT RUSSIA NEEDS TO SUCCEED ON THE BATTLE FIELD. BLINGEN SAID AS YOU PLAYED THERE RUSSIA WOULD STRUGGLE WITHOUT CHINA'S SUPPORT AND COULDN'T HAVE BETTER RELATIONS WITH THAT THREAT SINCE THE COLD WAR. I THINK IT WAS NOTABLE THAT HE SAID IF RUSSIA DOESN'T ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM, HE WILL, BUT THAT APPEARS TO BE A VAILED THREAT TO TAKE MEASURES BEYOND DIPLOMATIC PRESSURE AND POSSIBLY SANCTIONS. OF THE BROADER RELATIONSHIP, I THINK THAT SUGGESTS THAT WHILE AUTOSTABLE FOR THE MOMENT, THERE IS NOT AN ABSENCE OF SIGNIFICANT HEADWINDS TO CONTEND WITH IN THE MONTH AHEAD. >> ALL RIGHT, WE WILL BE WATCHING. I KNOW THEY'RE TRYING TO MANAGE THIS COMPETITIVE RE

Channel: CBS News

Views: 28,448

Keywords: antony blinken, xi jinping, china, russia, taiwan, biden, world news, secretary of state, beijing, Taiwan, Antony Blinken, Xi Jinping, Russia, China, Beijing, CBS News Mornings Clips, World, CBS News

Id: pJ-jmKhB3LI

Length: 3min 50sec (230 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 26 2024