Russia’s War in Ukraine High on Agenda of G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting

US and China

Blinken’s meeting with the Chinese foreign minister would be their first in-person since the chief US diplomat unveiled the Biden administration’s strategy to outcompete the rival superpower.

In his remarks at the time, Blinken said that the US was not seeking to decouple from China and that the relationship between the world’s two largest economies was not a zero-sum game.

For months, senior State Department officials have said they have not seen China providing material support to Russia for its war against Ukraine, and they have warned of “consequences” if the Beijing government does.

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Last week, the US Department of Commerce added five companies in China to a trade blacklist for allegedly supporting Russia’s military and defense industrial base.

In the US, some Republican lawmakers said the Biden administration’s actions were not enough.

“The [Biden] administration’s feeble concept of “consequences” will do little to deter the CCP’s [Chinese Communist Party’s] ongoing support for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war crimes,” said Representative Michael McCaul, ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on June 29. There should be “significant sanctions on those offending companies,” he added.

G-20 division over Russian war

Russia’s participation in G-20 events has created tension within the group, which comprises the Group of Seven leading industrialized economies, or G-7, and other large developing economies.

Many members, especially those in the G-7, have condemned Russia’s invasion and supported serious economic sanctions. Members China and India, however, have abstained on various United Nations resolutions and refrained from publicly condemning Russia.

US President Joe Biden has said that Russia should not remain a member of the G-20, but China, Brazil, and South Africa objected to removing Russia from the grouping. Those countries are also members of five large emerging economies known as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and see themselves as an alternative to the US-led world order.

Some G-20 members say divisions widened by Russia’s war in Ukraine should not overshadow this year’s theme of economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic.

Indonesia, which holds the rotating presidency of the G-20, says it maintains an independent foreign policy and does not side with world powers. Indonesia’s reluctance to exclude Putin from the G-20 summit reflects its wish not to be seen as choosing a side and to stay focused on the Covid-19 theme.

“As the world is recovering from the damaging effects of the pandemic, we must collaborate and do our part to contribute towards economic recovery,” Rosan Perkasa Roeslani, Indonesia’s Ambassador to the US, told VOA on Tuesday.