in a seven-hour long meeting that American officials have described, among other things, as candid, substantial and important, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan conveyed, on Monday, Washington’s “deep concerns about China’s alignment with Russia” to top Chinese official Yang Jiechi, warning him that should Beijing offer support to Moscow, there would be “significant consequences” for China.

The meeting, which took place in Rome on Monday, came after reports from the Financial Times saying US believed China had shown a willingness to offer specific military support asked for by Russia. US officials have refused to officially comment on the reports and maintained that they will engage with “privately and directly” with China. The White House, in a brief readout, described the discussions on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “substantial”, with both sides agreeing to maintain open lines of communication.

“What we have conveyed and what was conveyed by our National Security Advisor in this meeting is that should they (China) provide military or other assistance that, of course, violates sanctions or supports the war effort, that there will be significant consequences,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said, refusing to elaborate on what form those consequences could take.

State department spokesperson Ned Price was far more direct, and said that the NSA had “raised directly and very clearly” US’s concerns about China’s support to Russia in the wake of the invasion, and the implications of any such support, not just for China’s relationship with the US, “but for its relationships around the world”.

“That includes our allies and partners in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.

A senior administration official said, separately, that Sullivan had described to Yang the unprecedented US cooperation and coordination with allies and partners in Europe and Asia to inflict costs on Russia over the invasion.

When asked if the US believed that China was already offering support to Russia, Price said, “We are watching very closely the extent to which the PRC, or any other country for that matter, provides any form of support, whether that’s material support, whether that’s economic support, whether that’s financial support, to Russia. Any such support from anywhere in the world would be of great concern to us.”

(With inputs from agencies)