The US has said it is “very concerned” China will soon supply Russia with lethal arms to help in its war against Ukraine after a fraught meeting between the two sides’ top diplomats on Saturday that addressed multiple Sino-American tensions.

The frank exchanges between US secretary of state Antony Blinken and China’s top foreign policy official Wang Yi were the first face-to-face interactions between top Washington and Beijing officials since the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that floated over North America earlier this month.

During the meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Blinken demanded China cease the use of spy balloons over the US while stressing that any material support from Beijing for Russia’s military would have “serious consequences” for US-China relations.