U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Trade Affairs Ramin Toloi indicated that “food and energy security will be among the most important topics at the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Bali next Friday,” stressing that “Group members must insist that Russia backed UN efforts to open shipping lanes for the export of grain seized from Ukrainian ports, which were put on hold by a military operation launched by Moscow in Ukraine four months ago.

And in statements, he clarified that “whether this is happening at the G20 level or at the level of individual countries in the group, this is an important issue that Foreign Secretary Anthony Blinken will raise with his colleagues,” noting that “this file will also be on the table for discussions between Blinken and his Chinese colleague”. Wang Yi on the sidelines of meetings in Bali.

Notably, just before the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Beijing and Moscow announced a “limitless” partnership between themselves, but US officials warned that China would face consequences if it began to provide material support to the Russian military effort.