China says it has not supplied weapons to Russia, blames ‘invisible hand’ behind continuing Ukraine crisis
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Foreign Minister Qin Gang said that “the more unstable the world becomes, the more imperative it is for China and Russia to steadily advance their relations”.
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BEIJING - Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said China has not supplied weapons to Russia in its war against Ukraine, adding that the world’s second-largest economy is being unfairly dragged into the conflict.
“China did not create the crisis. It is not a party to the crisis,” he told reporters on Tuesday at his first media conference as foreign minister on the sidelines of China’s annual parliamentary meetings.
“And it has not provided weapons to either side of the conflict. Why on earth is there blame and sanctions on China? This is absolutely unacceptable.”
China’s close relationship with Russia has been under scrutiny since the latter invaded Ukraine in February 2022,
The United States and its allies have since imposed unprecedented sanctions against Russia, including cutting banks’ access to the global financial payments system, supported by hundreds of multinational companies that have also stopped their operations in Russia.
Recently, the US has reportedly been sounding out its allies if Beijing provides arms and ammunition to Russia for the war in Ukraine.
Beijing says this is false information.
The US imposed sanctions against a Chinese company in January for providing satellite imagery to the Wagner mercenary group,
Mr Qin said China has been advocating for peace talks, but efforts “have been repeatedly undermined”. “There seems to be an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict,” he said, without naming any country, adding that the “Ukraine crisis is a tragedy that could have been avoided”.
He urged the start of the process of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine “as soon as possible”, given that “the Ukraine crisis has come to a critical juncture”.
“Conflict, sanctions and pressure will not solve the problem,” he added. “What is needed is calmness, reason and dialogue while respecting the legitimate security concerns of all parties.”
Mr Qin also addressed the question of China’s relationship with Russia. Both parties had announced a “no limits” partnership in February 2022,
China’s friendship with Russia is not a threat to any country and will not be subjected to any interference or discord, he said.
He added that China will work with Europe to uphold multilateralism, as he maintained that friendships with the European Union and Russia are “not targeted at any third party”.
“China always makes its own judgment and decides on this position independently based on the merits of the issue between war and peace,” Mr Qin said.
Making a case for how Beijing has been trying to play a peacekeeper role in the conflict, he said: “The more unstable the world becomes, the more imperative it is for China and Russia to steadily advance their relations.
“With China and Russia working together, the world will have the driving force towards multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations, and global strategic balance and stability will be better ensured.”
Mr Qin said Russia’s and China’s leadership remain in close contact, guided strategically by both presidents Xi and Vladimir Putin. The partnership between China and Russia “will surely grow from strength to strength”.
He, however, did not answer a question on whether Mr Xi will be visiting Russia after the annual sessions of the Chinese Parliament conclude next week. Mr Putin has publicly invited Mr Xi to do so.
