China is supporting the biggest threat to European security since the Cold War

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has warned that Washington will take action if China does not stop supplying Russia with products used in its attack on Ukraine. In an interview for BBC in Beijing, the top US diplomat said he had made it clear to his colleagues that they were “helping to fuel the biggest threat” to European security since the Cold War.

He has not indicated what measures the US is prepared to take.

But Blinken has also been at pains to emphasize that progress has been made in some areas.

He has praised Beijing for its efforts to stop shipments of the drug fentanyl to the United States.

China remains the main source of fentanyl for the US, which the White House says is causing a public health crisis in the country.

Blinken has also stressed that he believes Beijing can play a “constructive” role in the Middle East, pointing out that China is using its “relations with Iran to push” against further escalation of the confrontation with Israel.

The visit – Blinken’s second in 10 months – is part of a significant increase in dialogue and diplomacy between these rival powers, which are trying to put their relationship on an equal footing after a period of huge tension last year.

Relations between Washington and Beijing have been strained over China’s claims to Taiwan and the South China Sea and bans on US technology exports. They were further aggravated by a spy balloon controversy last February.

In recent days, the US passed a law forcing Chinese-owned TikTok to sell the wildly popular video app or be banned in America – something Blinken previously revealed was not discussed in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi, who met Blinken on Friday afternoon at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, agreed that the two countries had “made some positive progress” since his meeting with his US counterpart Joe Biden in November.

He added that the countries should be “partners, not rivals,” saying that if the U.S. viewed China’s “positive development,” relations could “really stabilize, improve, and move forward.”

Blinken told the BBC that one key path to “better relations” between China and the US and Europe would be for Beijing “or some of its enterprises” to stop providing “critical components” that help Russia produce more ammunition. Components include items such as “metal cutting machines, microelectronics and optics”.

“It helps Russia perpetuate its aggression against Ukraine, but it also creates a growing threat to Europe because of Russia’s aggression,” he explained, adding that it “helps fuel the biggest threat to (Europe’s) insecurity since the end of the Cold War”.

“We’ve already taken action against Chinese entities that are involved in this,” he said. “And what I’m making clear today is that if China doesn’t take action, we will.”

Blinken, who has hinted at sanctions as a possible route, was keen to stress that China is not supplying Russia with arms directly.

In his interview, Anthony Blinken said it was important to see if the two countries could “build greater cooperation in areas where we have mutual interest,” including artificial intelligence and military communications.