Foreign Minister Qin Gang also described Taiwan as a “red line” in relations with the US at an extended press conference.
According to Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, the crisis in Ukraine appears to be driven by an invisible hand urging the continuation and escalation of the conflict.
The “invisible hand” is “using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agendas,” Qin said at a press conference on the sidelines of the country’s annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing, without specifying whom he was referring to.
He called for dialogue to begin as soon as possible.
“Conflict, sanctions and pressure will not solve the problem… The process of peace talks should start as soon as possible and the legitimate security concerns of all parties should be respected,” Qin said.
China’s stance on the war in Ukraine has come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks due to its deepening relationship with Moscow and concerns in Western capitals that it cannot be a fair mediator in potential peace talks when it has refused to name Russia as an aggressor in the called conflict. .
Russia sent its troops to Ukraine on February 24 last year in what it calls a “special military operation”. The conflict has left Ukrainian cities in ruins, millions have fled abroad and undermined the global economy.
Qin stressed that Beijing had not supplied weapons to either side of the Ukraine conflict amid comments from US officials about unspecified “consequences” for China if it sent deadly aid to Russia.
“(China) is not a party to the crisis and has not supplied arms to either side of the conflict. So on what basis is this talk of blame, sanctions and threats against China? This is absolutely unacceptable.”
In an extensive and lengthy meeting with reporters, Qin also spoke about the relationship between the US and China and said he hopes the two countries will find the “right way to deal with each other”.
He emphasized that the self-governed island of Taiwan was central to the maintenance of relations between Beijing and Washington, describing it as “the core of the core issues and the first red line not to be crossed in US-China relations”.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and does not rule out the use of force to take control of the island. It has increased military and diplomatic pressure on the island since Tsai Ing-wen, who claims independence, was first elected president in 2016. Tsai has said that the future of the island is in the hands of the Taiwanese people.
The US is legally obligated to give Taiwan the means to defend itself.
