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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is trying to get China's support for efforts to isolate Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine.
Since the crisis began, reaction from China has been neutral. The White House says President Barack Obama spoke to Chinese President XI Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) last night, to try to get China off the fence.
According to a White House statement, Obama appealed to China's well-known opposition to outside intervention in the domestic affairs of other nations.
But it's not clear whether China will side with the United States and Europe or with Moscow, which has accused the West of sparking the Ukraine crisis by "meddling" in Ukraine's internal affairs.
Obama's call to China's leader was part of an effort by the president to rally world leaders around the idea that Russia's incursion into Crimea violates international law.
Obama will host Ukraine's new prime minister at the White House on Wednesday. The U.S. has promised Ukraine's new government $1 billion in loan guarantees, to supplement a $15 billion aid package from Europe.
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021-c-25-(Mark Smith, AP White House correspondent)-"the Crimean peninsula"-AP White House Correspondent Mark Smith reports the president has been working the phones on Ukraine -- and will meet with the country's prime minister later this week. (10 Mar 2014)
<<CUT *021 (03/10/14)££ 00:25 "the Crimean peninsula"
170-c-23-(Mark Smith, AP White House correspondent)-"of Russian forces"-AP White House Correspondent Mark Smith reports Chinese President Xi Jinping is the latest foreign leader to get a phone call from President Obama about Ukraine. ((Xi Jinping is pronounced SHEE jin-PING')) (10 Mar 2014)
<<CUT *170 (03/10/14)££ 00:23 "of Russian forces"
APPHOTO DCPM101: White House press secretary Jay Carney answers questions during his daily news briefing at the White House in Monday, March 10, 2014. Carney spoke about the ongoing situation in the Ukraine and this week's visit of Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to the White House. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (10 Mar 2014)
<<APPHOTO DCPM101 (03/10/14)££
APPHOTO XDMV110: A convoy of military vehicles bearing no license plates travels on the road from Sevastopol to Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine, Monday, March 10, 2014. Ukraine's foreign minister said Monday his country already feels like it's almost in a state of war after Russian forces took effective control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) (10 Mar 2014)
<<APPHOTO XDMV110 (03/10/14)££
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