Beijing, The Chinese Foreign Minister today called Russia Beijing’s “most important strategic partner” amid China’s continued refusal to condemn the invasion of Ukraine.
Wang Yi said ties with Moscow constituted “one of the most crucial bilateral relationships in the world.”
China has broken with the US, Europe and others that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Beijing has said sanctions create new issues and threaten a political settlement of the conflict.
“No matter how perilous the international landscape, we will maintain our strategic focus and promote the development of a comprehensive China-Russia partnership in the new era,” Wang told reporters at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China’s ceremonial parliament.
“The friendship between the two peoples is iron clad,” he added.
Much attention has been paid to a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on 4 February 2022, after which a joint statement was issued affirming “strong mutual support for the protection of their core interests.”
However, Wang said Taiwan was a “fundamentally different” issue from Ukraine because the island is “an inalienable part of China’s territory.”
“Some people, while being vocal about the principle of sovereignty on the Ukraine issue, have kept undermining China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Taiwan question. This is a blatant double-standards,” Wang said.
China and Russia have increasingly aligned their foreign policies against the liberal Western order and their militaries have carried out exercises together and flown joint air patrols, as their relationship has taken on the trappings of an informal alliance.
Xi’s government has refused to criticize the Russian invasion but tried to distance itself from Putin’s war by calling for dialogue and the respect of national sovereignty. That prompted suggestions Putin failed to tell the Chinese leader his plans before their February statement.
Along with denouncing trade and financial sanctions on Moscow, Beijing says Washington is to blame for the conflict for failing to take Russia’s security concerns into consideration.
During an hour-long phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last Saturday, Wang said China opposes any moves that “add fuel to the flames” in Ukraine.
Wang called for negotiations to resolve the immediate crisis, as well as talks on creating a balanced European security mechanism. He said the US and Europe should pay attention to the negative impact of NATO’s eastward expansion on Russia’s security, the Associated Press (AP) news reported.
Source: Oman News Agency