In a wide-ranging press conference, Foreign Minister Qin Gang also called Taiwan a “red line” in relations with the United States.
The Ukraine crisis appears to be driven by an invisible hand that is pushing for a prolongation and escalation of the conflict, according to Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Gang.
The “hidden hand” is “using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agendas,” Chen told a news conference on the sidelines of the country’s annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing, without specifying who he was referring to.
He called for the start of dialogue 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,” Chen said.
China’s position on the Ukraine war has come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks amid a deepening relationship with Moscow and concern in Western capitals that it could not be an honest broker in any potential peace talks when it refused to name Russia as the aggressor in the conflict. .
Russia sent its forces to Ukraine on February 24 last year in what it calls a “special military operation”. The conflict has left Ukrainian cities in ruins, sent millions to flee abroad and undermined the global economy.
Chen stressed that Beijing has not provided arms to either side in the Ukraine conflict, amid comments from US officials about unspecified “consequences” for China should it send lethal aid to Russia.
“[China] It is not a party to the crisis and has not provided weapons to any of the parties to the conflict. So what is the basis for this talk of blame, sanctions and threats against China? This is totally unacceptable.”
In a wide-ranging and long meeting with reporters, Chen also talked about the relationship between the United States and China, saying he hoped the two countries would find “the right path to get along.”
He stressed that the self-governing island of Taiwan was central to managing relations between Beijing and Washington, describing it as “the core of core issues, and the first red line that must not be crossed in US-China relations.”
Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to seize control of the island. Its military and diplomatic pressure on the island has stepped up since Tsai Ing-wen, who claims to seek independence, was first elected in 2016. Tsai said the island’s future is up to the people of Taiwan.
The United States is obligated by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
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