There's been some question for a while now what effect on the conflict ongoing in
Ukraine right now China will end up having.
And apparently as of today we finally had a conversation between
President XI Jinping of china and President Biden.
And in it we don't have a full transcript or anything like that,
at least as of when we're going live.
But Biden apparently quote detailed the implications and consequences if Beijing
were to provide material support to Russia and its attacks against Ukraine.
It also said that Biden had detailed the costs imposed on Russia as a result of
the invasion, which implies that the nature of the threat and God,
I only hope was economic in nature rather than some sort of military brinksmanship,
which war with China makes about as much sense for
the fate of the human species as one with Russia does.
We don't have that much information just yet.
But there were a few questions that the press asked of Jen Psaki earlier today
about this call here is the first.
>> Did President XI ever referred to it as an invasion?
>> Will let President Xi and
his team outline any more specifics about his component of the conversation.
>> Why not reveal if he called it an invasion or called it a war.
>> Because we don't as a policy speak for other countries, they can speak for
themselves.
>> That's the sort of thing that they do that makes sense to them to a reasonable
person doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
They had the call.
They said it to our president.
He's a representative, why can't we find out what they actually said?
We may not care.
But I think that we should have access to the information.
There was one other back and forth about this though.
So let's go to that yesterday.
>> Secretary Blinken said the administration was concerned that China is
considering answering Russia's request for
more military equipment after this jail recalled.
Does the White House still have that concern?
>> We have that concern.
The president detailed what the implications and
consequences would be if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts
brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians.
And obviously that is something we will be watching and the world will be watching.
>> So leading up to this point, there had not yet
been any evidence that china had been providing any aid to Russia.
They deny that they've even been asked, although the belief is that they have and
based on the conversation so far, at least the news coverage of it.
We don't know yet much about the conversation that was had, but
diplomacy is ongoing of a variety of forms.
>> So guys, I don't think whether they call it an invasion, a war, skirmish.
A rumble matters much.
There's what it signals matters right?
So is China going to help Russia or is it not?
Because one fact pattern possibility was Russia starts to win.
They've got the upper hand.
They've got momentum America try sanctions, but they don't quite get
Switzerland involved and then it's leaking like a sieve they're not that hurt,
then China and India coming on the side of Russia and Russia wins.
Okay, now another fact pattern is we do get Switzerland,
Monaco, etcetera to be on our side.
The oligarchs are actually real hurt.
They're putting pressure on Putin, the Ukrainians hold down the fort, literally.
And then China and India kind of stay out of it because they think Russia might
be losing and they don't want to be on the bad end of sanctions and
consequences etcetera, especially if they're allies gonna lose anyway.
It looks like we're trending in that second direction,
which is good if China India and others join Russia and
try to break the sanctions that's really bad.
Not just for this conflict, but for future precedent is can the world get together
and say no, you cannot invade and murder all these people in different countries.
Now, of course the country matters, unfortunately,
the world has decided not to do that for Yemen.
But even so doing it for Ukraine is an excellent step forward and
we're so close to being able to do that successfully.
That's why China with its significant power is so important.
If they just sit on the sidelines good enough.
But if they help help Russia to try to break the sanctions, both economic and
military, then that's bad news for the world.
>> So my question is if those two individuals who are driven by control and
are fascists and dictators are thinking about this spreading worldwide,
why should we trust that they wouldn't get involved?
>> It's all about this great question It's all about their national self
interest, right?
They're not doing anybody any favors.
So on the one side, they think, well, if Russia takes Ukraine and
there isn't much consequences, I guess at a later time we can take Taiwan and
there won't be many consequences.
So, that's obviously has to weigh on their mind and
they're they're not doing anything out of the goodness of their heart.
On the other hand, they think, well, what if Russia fails and then they have to
withdraw and then we're suffering the consequences for what for nothing.
And now we took the damage in terms of world opinion, and
that has some consequences and deals that they make throughout the world.
Our chances of taking things like Taiwan had been set back even further.
Now we've got sanctions and tariffs, etcetera, deal with, so
that they're just weighing that.
And that's why if Russia is winning or losing is so important in that equation,
because it will determine whether china gets bigger benefit out of joining them or
staying out of it.
>> I want to throw out just a few more last updates I think are really
interesting that our audience should know about one,
we were reporting earlier this week about the attack on the theater in Mariupol.
Ukraine has now said that they have been able to rescue 130 people
from the destroyed building.
You're seeing a shot of it right there.
And you can note, although obviously it's in Ukrainian, apparently the word for
Children is the white words that are in front of and
in back of the incredibly distinct building,
thus providing no explanation for how you could accidentally destroy it.
But anyway, as.
>> John real quick, I think that the words are in Russian.
>> So I apologize in Russian, I mean it was meant to be read by someone who might
be targeting this building that's what I mean.
But that leaves something like 1000 people reportedly including
Children currently in the bunker beneath it possibly to be rescued.
They are trying as we speak, God only knows what will end up happening.
I also want to throw out this and I just,
I understand that this sort of information is generally presented to make you feel
better about the chance of the Ukrainians and it certainly will help them.
But it kind of horrifies me.
Here's a photo right now of new drones that are being sent from the US to
Ukraine, they're called kamikaze drones, they're called switchblades and
they come in a variety of sizes.
But if you're thinking of the sorts of drones you might have seen in warfare
before that fly around launch missiles,
those sorts of things that's not what this is.
These are small enough to be carried by an individual person.
They are launched out of tubes and they themselves are the weapons.
They are effectively bombs with wings that can be remotely
controlled by a person on the ground.
They say that it's able to be called off if civilians are nearby or
if the target has moved and those sorts of things.
Apparently the Ukrainian forces have already had a great deal of success
with what they say are over 50 elite squads of drone operators that
have been targeting in the middle of the night with thermal camera equipped drones,
Russian troop movements as well as tanks.
These drones can drop tank busting grenades effectively.
And all of this is gonna help the Ukrainian forces.
I hate that these things even exist though because once they're out and
we've transferred, as part of an $800 million dollar aid package to Ukraine,
others will develop them.
What about when terrorists get their hands on things like this?
I understand that they use drones in some cases already, but it's just devastating
to see the proliferation of such easily hide doble and
movable lethal technology like this.
>> Wes Clark JR on this show about a decade ago predicted this,
he said they're going to create drones drones that could run into things.
I mean he couldn't have been more right.
And so he said like we have air superiority here in America.
No, we don't.
The Chinese are just going to come up with drones that run into our planes and
here we are.
They've got drones that run into things and then explode.
They're using them on tanks for now.
I don't know the technology well enough to know whether he could also run into
planes, but I'm sure that there are varieties of that.
And so now John obviously the very bad news is
more lethal weaponry all across the world is a disaster.
The slightly good news is there's a lot of arrogance in the world from
the superpowers including us about we can invade any country we want,
we have air superiority and they have no chance against us at all.
Now you have to ask do we do we have air superiority.
So both America, Russia China etcetera.
We better watch ourselves because these drones can also go in the hands of people
fighting back.
>> Yeah.
I watch it.
I'm also scared to see these things.
It's horrible to, I don't ever want those things to become normal.
The images of human beings running away.
I just want to urge people to remember that while we're cheering on aside,
they're innocent people and people's children who are assigned to fight
these wars and that will never come home and
they will directly benefit anything from what's happening here.
This is really about wealth, power and greed and I just,
I really want people to understand and I'm so
glad you mentioned Yemen Junk because it is happening globally.
People are being abused and we are always the ponds in the game so
don't get it twisted, don't get it twisted.
We are all the pawns in the game.
If we're not sitting at the table we are all pawns in the game.
>> All right, last thing guys.
So as you see the Ukrainians fighting back Idas is right
of course we defended the Russian people over and over again in this conflict.
Amazing journalist protesters that are fighting for peace in Russia, but
also the Russian soldiers we've mentioned there are real people,
they didn't choose this war, it's not their fault and and so
don't celebrate too much when you see the tanks getting blown up etcetera.
Having said that, I also want to say don't ever judge the Ukrainians so
I don't want to see any crap about from the Putin apologists whether
they're on the right or pretend left going well although the Ukrainians,
they're so evil for blowing up a tank that had pointed to their house and
was about to murder their family.
No, no the Ukrainians are allowed to fight back any way they choose and
if Russia doesn't like it maybe they shouldn't have invaded.
>> Yeah, I just want to throw out one more thing because I don't think there's gonna
be a big part of the conversation, but it is going to be worldwide news.
It is that there are obviously massive consequences of conflicts like this
that ripple out outside of those countries and throughout the globe.
And one is that the fact that you might see that Ukraine's supply chain
of all sorts is falling apart, including food, that is terrible for
the people inside of Ukraine.
But it also has worldwide consequences in particular wheat shipments
from both Ukraine which is being attacked.
And now Russia considering the conflict and
the sanctions have largely been put on hold.
That's 30% of the world's wheat trade comes out of Ukraine and Russia.
Apparently now the World Food Program is warning of collateral hunger in some
Middle Eastern countries that rely on Ukraine for wheat.
Lebanon apparently gets 60% of its wheat from Ukraine.
And it is hard to imagine much of any of it being exported in the near future.
And so just bear in mind that these conflicts do not just affect the people
inside of them.
And our decisions in terms of sanctions and
all that have worldwide consequences as well.
>> Yes, and that is all due to Vladimir Putin and
anyone who defends him is an evil immoral person