WASHINGTON >> U.S. intelligence suggests China is considering providing arms and ammunition to Russia, an involvement in the Kremlin’s war effort that would be a “serious problem,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Blinken said the United States long has been concerned that China would provide weapons to Russia. He pointed to Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s promise to Russian President Vladimir Putin of a partnership with “no limits” when they met just weeks before Putin sent his troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Since then, ties between the two countries have only grown stronger.

With Putin determined to show some progress on the battlefield as the war nears the one-year mark, Russian forces have been on the offensive in eastern Ukraine.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing have been heightened recently after the U.S. shot down what it says was a Chinese spy balloon.

– The Associated Press