Talks between China and the United States broke down in Rome, Italy triggered a wave of Chinese capital sell-offs. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, met for seven hours on March 14 in Rome. U.S. officials are deeply concerned about the close ties between Beijing and Russia. The U.S. believes the CCP is using the war in Ukraine to advance its long-term interests in competition with the United States. Sullivan warned the CCP that its assistance to Russia, including helping it avoid sanctions by the United States and its Western allies, would be costly. While Yang reiterated the regime’s support for Russia–Ukraine peace talks during the meeting, U.S. officials believe the CCP has decided to provide economic and financial support to Russia during its invasion of Ukraine, and is providing armed drones and other …