WASHINGTON, February 16. /TASS/. If China provided material support to Russia in its special military operation in Ukraine, that would fundamentally change the relationship between Washington and Beijing, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said on Wednesday.

"We saw China and Russia declare their no-limits partnership. And I do think we’ve seen that strategic alignment between Xi [Jinping, the President of China] and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin continue, and so we’re also focused on that relationship in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine," she said at a conference call with reporters on the upcoming visit of Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Germany, Turkey and Greece.

"We understand that there’s this strategic alignment between the PRC and Russia, but if we were to see China providing material support to Russia in its war against Ukraine, that would fundamentally change our relationship with the PRC," Donfried continued.

The State Department said at the end of December that Washington was concerned about developing ties between Russia and China. A State Department official said then that Washington was closely watching if Beijing would provide military assistance to Moscow and help it to circumvent sanctions. US officials earlier said they had warned China they were ready to take measures, should Beijing make these steps.