The United States Is Worried That China Will Send Weapons to Russia

T99A2 Tank, one of China's most feared weapons systems in the United States. (DW/Picture Alliance/dpa/F. Maohua)

JAKARTA - White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday there would be serious consequences if China sent weapons to Russia for the war in Ukraine.

During an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" program, he said that the decision to help Moscow, including providing military aid, was in Beijing's hands.

"... but if that happens, there will be consequences that must be borne by China", Sullivan said as reported by Antara.

In a separate interview with ABC's "This Week" programme, he said China had not yet sent the aid but had not ruled out the option either.

US officials had warned Chinese officials in closed forums about the repercussions of shipping weapons to Russia, Sullivan said.

However, he did not elaborate further on the private talks.

The US and its allies in the NATO defence pact have been warning China about this recently.

They issued a public statement about their belief that China was considering providing Russia with lethal equipment.

CIA Director William Burns also made his comments Sunday.

"We believe that the Chinese leadership is considering aid in lethal equipment. We also haven't seen a final decision made (China), and we haven't seen any evidence of shipments of lethal equipment", Burns said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

Republican US Representative Michael McCaul, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said on "This Week" that US intelligence indicated drones were among the lethal weapons China was considering sending to Russia.

US President Joe Biden met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv last Monday and promised new aid to Ukraine worth 500 million dollars.

Last week marked the first year of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in what Moscow called a "special military operation".

The US has been by far the largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine to help it fight better-equipped Russian troops.

Ukraine is bracing for a major attack from Russia soon.