Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang speaks during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow September 18, 2019.
Pavel Golovkin | Afp | Getty Images
BEIJING. China is “deeply” concerned about the crisis in Ukraine, Prime Minister Li Keqiang said on Friday, warning that sanctions would hurt global growth.
“In Ukraine, the current situation is really serious, and China is deeply concerned and saddened,” Li said in Mandarin Chinese, according to the official translation.
The prime minister answered two questions about the war in Ukraine at the start of the annual press briefing. After Russia’s attack on Ukraine about two weeks ago, Beijing declined to call it an invasion and said China would maintain normal trade with both countries without joining US, EU and other countries’ sanctions on Russia.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that relations with Russia are “reliable as a rock.” He pointed to a joint statement with Russia issued after a high-level meeting in early February between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During Friday’s briefing, Li said China was “pursuing an independent peace policy” and echoed Beijing’s line calling on Russia and Ukraine to negotiate. “The immediate challenge now is to prevent tensions from escalating or even spiraling out of control.”
Li did not specifically say whether China would economically support Russia, but noted that China supports “every effort that contributes to a peaceful resolution of the crisis.”
He added that the sanctions would only shock the global economy, which is already struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Over the weekend, the International Monetary Fund said the economic impact of the war was “already very severe” with “adverse” shocks to inflation and business activity in many countries.
Last week, Oxford Economics estimated that the war would cut global GDP by 0.2% and fall by 0.6% this year if fighting continues through 2023.
End of an era
Lee spoke Friday at a press briefing held at the end of the annual parliamentary session.
This year, Lee appears at a briefing for the last time as prime minister, a position he has held since 2013. The ruling Communist Party of China is set to elect a new leadership team in the fall, although President Xi Jinping is expected to remain in an unprecedented third term. .
Li concluded the roughly two-hour briefing with a promise that China will continue to open its economy regardless of changes in the international environment.
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Foreign companies have long complained about the need for forced technology transfer and unequal access to the Chinese market, especially at the local implementation level. Over the past few years, China has passed a law to improve the business environment and allowed foreign financial institutions to take full ownership of their local operations.
“It has been forty years since China embarked on the path of opening up,” Li said. “The discovery has benefited the country and its people. We will not and should not close this door of opportunity. Thanks”.