BEIJING (AP) — China’s foreign minister on Monday called Russia his country’s “most important strategic partner” as Beijing refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine, despite the US and the European Union’s efforts to rein in Moscow. Despite increasing pressure to use his influence for. In.
Wang Yi said that the Chinese relationship with Moscow is “one of the most important bilateral relations in the world”.
China has severed ties with the US, Europe and others who have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Beijing has said the sanctions create new issues and threaten a political solution to the conflict.
“No matter how dangerous the international scenario, we will maintain our strategic focus and promote the development of a comprehensive China-Russia partnership in the new era,” Wang said at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China’s formal parliament.
“The friendship between the two people is strong,” he said.
Much attention was paid to a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on 4 February, after which a joint statement was issued reaffirming “strong mutual support for the protection of their core interests”. .
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, talk to each other during their meeting in Beijing on February 4, 2022. (Alexey Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo via AP, file)
Russia said it supports China’s vision of self-governing Taiwan as an “inseparable part of China”, and opposes any form of Taiwan independence, while China favors further expansion of NATO. Supported Russia in protesting.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn comparisons to China’s own threat to invade Taiwan, which it considers a free-standing province under its control.
However, Wang said that Taiwan was a “fundamentally separate” issue from Ukraine because the island is “an inseparable part of China’s territory”.
“Some people, while vocal about the principle of sovereignty over the Ukraine issue, have been undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity on the question of Taiwan. This is a blatant double standard,” Wang said in a less-than-subtle take on Taiwan’s ally America.
China and Russia increasingly align their foreign policies against the liberal Western system and their militaries exercise together and conduct joint air patrols, as their relationship is mired in an informal alliance. Wang on Monday accused the US of trying to create an Asian version of NATO.
Xi’s government refused to criticize the Russian offensive, but tried to distance itself from Putin’s war by calling for dialogue and respect for national sovereignty. It suggested Putin had failed to convey his plans to the Chinese leader prior to his February statement.
As well as condemning trade and financial sanctions on Moscow, Beijing says Washington is to blame for the conflict for failing to heed Russia’s security concerns.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gestures during a press conference with the President of Moldova at the Presidential Palace in Chisinau on March 6, 2022. (Olivier Doulerie/Pool/AFP)
During an hour-long phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday, Wang said China opposes any move to “add fuel to the fire” in Ukraine.
Wang said China hoped the fighting would stop as soon as possible and called for talks to resolve the crisis immediately, as well as on creating a balanced European security mechanism. He said the US and Europe should pay attention to the negative impact of NATO’s eastern expansion on Russian security.
On Monday’s visit to the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, Blinken said China’s action was contrary to its apparent support for stability and “respect for sovereignty”.
Blinken was speaking at a news conference with his Lithuanian counterpart, whose country has come under severe economic pressure from Beijing after agreeing to allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius.
Referring to Russia’s earlier annexation of Crimea, he said, “Since its coercion of Vilnius to now condemn Moscow’s major violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and in 2014, Beijing’s action is comparable to its words.” I’m talking too loudly.” ,
In Brussels, European Commission for Foreign Affairs spokesman Peter Stano said the EU would like to see China play a mediating role and persuade Russia to stop its war in Ukraine.
“China has the ability to reach Moscow because of its ties, obviously, and we want China to use its influence to press for a ceasefire and to encourage Russia to stop the brutal unprecedented shelling and killing of civilians in Ukraine.” Force it,” Stano said. Journalists Monday.
Members of the General Assembly vote on a resolution during the Special Session of the General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on March 2, 2022. (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images North America / Getty Images via AFP)
He said China was not among the five countries that voted against the UN General Assembly’s resolution condemning the Russian aggression. China refrained from voting.
“It’s a reason for us to continue and even increase our engagement,” Stano said.
Chinese state-controlled media have been asked to post only pro-Russian content and censor anti-Russian or pro-Western views, according to a copy of the instructions that appeared on the social media account of the newspaper Beijing News. The post was later removed.
On Friday, a translation by state TV of remarks by the head of the International Paralympic Committee during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Paralympics omitted the part expressing fears about the war in Ukraine and calling for peace.
Most senior Chinese leaders have avoided mentioning the war publicly.
On Saturday, Premier Li Keqiang, the No. 2 leader, indirectly acknowledged its impact, saying prices of oil, wheat and other commodities are high and “likely to fluctuate”, but gave no indication why.
Global conditions, Lee said, “were increasingly volatile.
