China’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that Beijing is “deeply concerned” by the conflict in Ukraine, which is “intensifying and even spiraling out of control”.
China has sought to position itself as a neutral party in the war in Ukraine while maintaining close ties with its strategic ally Russia.
Beijing has pledged to release a proposal aimed at finding a “political solution” to end the war ahead of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion on February 24.
The United States has accused China of plotting arms shipments to Russia, which Beijing has denied.
“It has been almost a year since the crisis in Ukraine escalated across the board,” Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told a conference on global security in Beijing.
“China is deeply concerned that the conflict is deepening and even spiraling out of control.”
Qin called on the “affected countries to stop adding fuel to the fire and to stop blaming China as soon as possible”.
Beijing will “offer Chinese wisdom for the political solution of the Ukraine crisis and work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultations, address the concerns of all parties and seek common security,” he added.
And referring to the self-governing island of Taiwan, which China considers its territory and has promised to one day conquer, Qin urged countries to “stop making a ruckus by shouting ‘Today Ukraine, tomorrow Taiwan'” .
“The external pressures and attempts to contain China are increasing, getting worse and posing a serious threat to China’s sovereignty and security,” he said.
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that Beijing opposes attacks on nuclear power plants and the use of biochemical weapons in the Ukraine conflict and is ready to cooperate with all parties.
Wang is expected in Moscow for talks about the final stop of a European tour, during which he also visited France, Italy, Hungary and Germany.
The Kremlin said Monday that Wang could meet President Vladimir Putin during his visit, according to the official TASS news agency.
The high-level visits follow accusations by top US diplomat Antony Blinken that China “might consider providing lethal support” to Moscow ranging “ranging from ammunition to the weapons themselves”.
The EU foreign policy chief said he warned Wang at a meeting over the weekend that any material support for Moscow’s war is a “red line in our relations”.
“He told me they’re not going to do it, they’re not planning to. But we will remain vigilant,” said Josep Borrell on Monday before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Beijing denied the allegations on Monday, accusing Washington of “spreading false information.”
“It is the United States, not China, that is endlessly supplying weapons to the battlefield,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.