Washington —
The White House dismissed a Friday meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in which the leaders unveiled a strategic alliance geared against the U.S.
"What we have control over is our own relationships and the protection of our own values and also looking for ways to work with countries even where we disagree," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during her briefing.
In the meeting, Xi endorsed Putin's demands to end NATO expansion and get security guarantees from the West, issues that have led to Russia's standoff with the United States and its allies over Ukraine. Meanwhile Moscow voiced its support for Beijing's stance that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.
The two leaders met at Beijing's Diaoyutai State Guesthouse Friday afternoon, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV, hours before the beginning of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which diplomats from the U.S., Britain and other countries are boycotting over human rights abuses.
The broadcaster did not provide details of the meeting, but Xi and Putin, both of whom have been criticized by the U.S. for their foreign and domestic policies, issued a joint statement underscoring their displeasure with "interference in the internal affairs" of other countries.
The joint statement proclaimed a new China-Russia strategic "friendship" that "has no limits" and no "forbidden areas of cooperation."
Stacie Goddard, the Mildred Lane Kemper Professor of Political Science who teaches great power rivalries at Wellesley College, says the move is designed to counter Washington's narrative that Moscow and Beijing are acting aggressively on Ukraine and Taiwan, by claiming that it is the U.S. that is interfering in their spheres of influence.
"What they're saying is that the United States is attempting to change the status quo," Goddard told VOA. "They're portraying themselves in many ways as standing up to a revisionist and aggressive United States."
Goddard added that in the past Beijing has been reluctant to appear to be acting directly in concert with Russia. "This is really a step towards making it clear, they are acting together," she added.
China's expressions of support for Russia come as Moscow's dispute with Ukraine threatens to escalate into armed conflict.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone Friday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to discuss Russia's military buildup along Ukraine's border.
He affirmed "the United States' unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty" and made clear the United States is willing to "impose swift and severe consequences on Russia if it chooses to escalate" the situation, according to a State Department statement.
Blinken also met Friday with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau in Washington for bilateral talks. In remarks at the start of the talks, he stressed the importance of the relationship between the two countries and thanked Poland for its leadership on NATO's eastern flank.
He said, "We strongly prefer that Russia choose the path of diplomacy and dialogue, but if it does not, we are fully prepared for the alternative."
On Thursday, a senior Biden administration official said the U.S. has information indicating that Russia has developed a plan to stage a false Ukrainian military attack on Russian territory and leverage it as a pretext for an attack against Ukraine.
Fabricating a video of such an attack is one of several options the Kremlin is formulating to give it an excuse to invade Ukraine, the official said.
"The video will be released to underscore a threat to Russia's security and to underpin military operations," said the official, who requested anonymity.
"This video, if released, could provide Putin the spark he needs to initiate and justify military operations against Ukraine," the official added.
The official said the Biden administration is disclosing specifics about Russia's alleged plans to "dissuade" Russia from carrying out such plans.
In an interview Thursday with MSNBC, U.S. deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer said, "We don't know definitively that this is the route they are going to take, but we know that this is an option under consideration."
The Biden administration disclosed the intelligence after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday welcomed U.S. plans to deploy more troops to Europe and said NATO is considering sending additional battle groups to the southeastern part of its alliance amid tensions along the Russia-Ukraine border.