US President Joe Biden announced on Friday in Ottawa that China "has not sent" weapons to Russia since Russia began its military operation in Ukraine over a year ago.

During a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Biden said: "Over the past three months, I have been hearing that China will supply Russia with significant weapons... They have not done that yet. That does not mean they will not do it, but they have not done it yet."

Biden added: "I do not underestimate China. I do not underestimate Russia," considering that reports about their rapprochement might have been "exaggerated."

On the other hand, Biden emphasized the strong relations among Western democracies, saying "If anything has happened, it is that the West has become noticeably more integrated."

Biden spoke about US security alliances in the Pacific region, such as the Quad which also includes Australia, India, and Japan, as well as the AUKUS alliance with Australia and the UK.

The Pentagon calls for preparing the military for a possible confrontation with China

During Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow this week, Russia and Beijing praised the "special nature" of their relations.

However, the Chinese leader did not promise to provide weapons to the Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, a step that would have triggered Western sanctions on China if it had occurred.

On Thursday, Pentagon leaders said that the US military must be ready for a possible confrontation with China, prompting Congress to approve the proposed $842 billion defense budget which would modernize forces in Asia and around the world.

What did Lloyd Austin say?

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in his testimony before the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee:

This is a strategy-driven budget, a budget driven by the seriousness of our strategic competition with the People's Republic of China.

The budget proposes spending more than $9 billion, a 40 percent increase from last year, to build military capabilities in the Pacific and defend allies.

Ensuring readiness for combat

General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated:

China's behavior is pushing it towards potential confrontation and conflict with its neighbors and possibly the United States.

War and preparing for it is extremely costly, but it is not as expensive as waging war, and this budget prevents war and prepares us to fight it if necessary.

The Department of Defense must continue to modernize its forces to ensure readiness to fight if necessary.

Our operational readiness rates are now higher than they have been in many years.

More than 60 percent of the active force is at the highest states of readiness currently, and can be deployed for combat within less than 30 days, while 10 percent can be deployed within 96 hours.