House Armed Services Chair Smith: We Need ‘Maximum Pressure on China’ So They Don’t Bail out Russia

On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) called for “maximum pressure on China” to ensure they do not bail out Russia from the consequences of sanctions.

Smith stated, [relevant remarks begin around 3:25] “I don’t think China has a clear sense right now of where they are. This has put them in a really awkward position. … We need to put pressure on them. China is the one country best positioned to bail out Putin now that he has dug himself this hole [of] our sanctions and the unity of the west against him. We need to make sure we put maximum pressure on China and not allow them to do that. But look, they didn’t expect Putin to do this. And now that he has, they’re caught between the fact that they wanted to build that partnership with Russia.”

He continued, “Russia and China have one big thing in common. They want to bring us down. And that’s why China wants to partner with Russia. But at the same time, China’s running around the world saying, we won’t interfere in sovereignty. And now they are giving aid and comfort to the country that has interfered in sovereignty more than any other in a catastrophic way. So, I think we need to keep the pressure on them to show — to shame them for their — any relationship that they have with Russia, given Putin’s brutal war in Ukraine.”

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