Biden lays down the double-standard during call with China's Xi Jinping

Bear with me, because I may just be exhibiting exceptional stupidity that can be cured by getting good information.  Thus, I'm asking a question here, not stating any answers.  My question is this: how can Biden get on his high horse to order China away from helping Russia in the current Russia-Ukraine conflict when we're going all out to help Ukraine in the same conflict?

The big news from yesterday was that Biden spent two hours on a conference call with China.  During the call, he warned China that things would go badly if it helped Russia.  The White House refused to release a transcript, but China did, and the Washington Times reported on both a White House official's summary of the call and the Chinese transcript:

President Biden warned Chinese President Xi Jinping of consequences for supporting Russia's war on Ukraine, a senior administration official said.

"President Biden made clear the implications and consequences if China provided material support to Russia as it prosecutes its brutal war in Ukraine, not just for China's relationship with the United States, but for the wider world," the official said.

Mr. Biden delivered the warning in a two-hour phone call Friday with Mr. Xi, who has entertained requests from Russia for economic and military support.

When pressed, the White House official refused to say what consequences Biden threatened should China give aid to Russia.

In addition, the two men spoke about subjects such as Taiwan, economic competition between the two nations, and Xi's contention that he wants peace between Ukraine and Russia and is working to achieve that goal.


Image: Biden and Xi Jinping in 2014 (Biden is on Xi's right) (image edited).  YouTube screen grab.

That’s all very clear.  What's unclear to me is the moral platform from which Biden operates when he tells China not to support Russia.  After all, America is doubling down harder every day in its support for Ukraine, from destroying Russia's economy to sending equipment and money to Ukraine to giving the Ukraine military battlefield information courtesy of American satellites.  Bryan Dean Wright appeared on Tucker Carlson to explain that our help is so material to the Ukraine cause (especially interfering with the Russian economy) that we are effectively at war with Russia:

That, on its face, is scary.

But please explain to me how we can be supporting Ukraine while reading China the riot act, warning it away from taking sides in this matter.  I'm not talking about the ethics of supporting one side over the other; I'm simply asking why Xi would even sit still for such a lecture.

I understand that Russia buys only a tiny fraction of the products China sells and that we buy a great many products, which would explain why China wants to make nice with America.  But the flip-side of that is that we're completely dependent on China for most of the things we buy here in America, which would seem to imply that we are not in the driver's seat, either, when it comes to U.S.-Sino relations.

Also, on a purely personal note, I can't imagine anything more offensive than having Biden read me the riot act.  Xi may tolerate it because he knows that China has already bought and paid for Biden, making everything Biden just said nothing more than kabuki theater.

I promise to check the comments for this article tomorrow to see what you all have to say in answer to my question.

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