US’ Sullivan: China in ‘awkward’ international position over Ukraine

 US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” China’s stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine puts it in an “awkward” position internationally and any weapons support to Russia would come with “real costs.”

Additional comments

“The Biden administration doesn’t have evidence that China is giving “lethal support” to President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine while seeking to warn Beijing of the risks.“

“When China talks rhetorically about the war in Ukraine, they tie themselves into knots, because they know that going all-in with Russia in this war is Ukraine would alienate a substantial number of countries that they are working hard to maintain good relations with.”

“This war presents real complications for Beijing.”

“And Beijing will have to make its own decisions about how to proceed, whether it provides military assistance. But if it goes down that road, it will come at real costs to China.”

Market reaction

The ongoing geopolitical tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine and the alleged Chinese involvement in aiding Moscow continues to weigh on the investors’ sentiments. The AUD/USD pair, therefore, remains dragged down by geopolitical risks, despite a big jump in the Australian Company Gross Operating Profits for the final quarter of 2022. The pair is losing 0.08% on the day to trade at 0.6719, as of writing.