US sets some red lines for China over support for Russia

NSA Sullivan says the US is looking out for companies 'attempting to backfill in response to its export controls

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday laid out some broad guidelines about the types of Chinese support for Russia that would warrant a response from the United States, after warning Beijing last week of potential dire consequences.

Speaking aboard Air Force One en route to Brussels where President Joe Biden will be attending the NATO summit, Sullivan said US sanctions enforcement will look closely at whether China facilitates settlement of Russian payments or attempts to counter export controls passed since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Asked to be more specific, he listed instances in which the United States would feel compelled to react.

Also read: US warns China against helping Russia as sanctions mount

The US is looking out for companies that are "attempting to backfill in response to the export controls that we have imposed," Sullivan said. Backfilling refers to the process of supplying a good to Russia that's impacted by export controls.

If Chinese companies or others "choose to backfill" the US has tools to ensure that can’t happen, he added.

In terms of payments, Sullivan said, the US and its G7 allies are looking for and will respond to "systematic efforts, industrial-scale efforts to try to reorient the settlement of financial payments and so forth."