China says supports holding conference on Ukraine with participation of Moscow, Kiev

“We hope for the soonest ceasefire. China supports the timely convening of an international conference which both Russia and Ukraine would agree to, with the equal participation of all sides and a fair discussion of all peace plans,” he said at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov following bilateral talks in Beijing.

The top Chinese diplomat reiterated that on the Ukrainian issue, China firmly follows the four principles set forth by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In March 2022, Xi laid these four principles out, emphasizing that they must be implemented in the context of the Ukrainian conflict. According to him, it is necessary to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, as well as the goals and principles of the UN Charter, seriously treat the legitimate security interests of all countries and support all efforts on a peaceful settlement of the crisis. Later, these principles formed the foundation of China’s official position on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis published in February 2023.

Chinese authorities are decisively against unilateral pressure measures, Wang continued.

“We will stand out for support of universally accessible economic globalization, decisively counter unilateral measures and protectionism,” the minister stated.

Unilateral sanctions “violate international law, undermine the global order and contradict the trend of global development”, Wang said.

“The Chinese side is decisively against that,” the foreign minister stressed.

Lavrov said at the news conference with Wang that Russia and China agreed that any meetings on Ukraine ignoring Moscow’s interests are futile.

“We discussed the current situation around the Ukraine crisis,” Lavrov stated.

“We and our Chinese colleagues supported the conclusion that any international meetings that <…> ignore Russia’s position while promoting the <…> so called peace formula of [Ukrainian leader Volodymyr] Zelensky and are therefore disconnected from reality are futile,” he added.

Moscow is grateful to Beijing for its unbiased and balanced position on Ukraine as well as for the willingness to play a positive role in resolving the crisis by political and diplomatic means, Lavrov continued.

Commenting on the 12-point peace initiative on Ukraine proposed by China last year, Russia’s top diplomat lauded the plan for addressing the root causes behind the Ukraine conflict, “primarily in the context of ensuring indivisible security, including in Europe and the world over”.