US President Donald Trump is refraining from putting pressure on China to stop supporting the russian military machine, as he is focused on other aspects of relations with Beijing - Washington's main geopolitical rival.
This was reported by Bloomberg, citing sources among American and European officials familiar with the situation.
According to the agency's interlocutors, the Trump administration now intends to focus on bilateral issues in relations with China, which pushes the war in Ukraine to the periphery of the American foreign policy agenda. Officials, who wished to remain anonymous, emphasized: Trump can change this course at any time.
One of the interlocutors explained that the current administration's approach is dictated by the desire to move away from the course of former US President Joseph Biden, under whom US foreign policy was viewed mainly through the prism of the russian-Ukrainian war.
According to the position of the Trump team, in relations with China, issues that directly affect American national interests, such as tariffs, export restrictions on technology and the supply of rare earth metals, become a priority.
In this context, Ukraine is viewed as a less significant direction, the agency's interlocutor said. In addition, according to him, Trump is avoiding direct criticism of China for its support for russia, since he is simultaneously negotiating with vladimir putin about a possible end to the war.
If the current course is maintained, this will mean a departure from the established position of the US and the G7 countries, which have consistently called on China to put pressure on Moscow and stop facilitating russian military efforts. Bloomberg recalls that the foreign ministers of the G7 condemned Beijing's support in a statement adopted in March.
It is expected that this issue will be raised again at the G7 summit, which will be held in June in Alberta (Canada). However, as the agency notes, it is not yet clear whether the participants of the meeting will insist that the Trump administration join the formation of a common position on China.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, a telephone conversation took place the day before between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to the American President, the topic of the war in Ukraine was not raised during the conversation, and the main attention was paid to bilateral trade issues.
Previously, the United States and European countries have repeatedly accused Beijing of supplying russia with dual-use goods that help vladimir putin continue his aggression against Ukraine. In particular, at the end of May, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated that 80% of dual-use goods used by russia in the war come from China.
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