Chinese FM expounds on major concerns about situation in Ukraine

BALI, Indonesia - Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday exchanged views with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the Ukraine issue during his attendance at the Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Indonesia's tourist island of Bali.

Wang expounded on China's three concerns about the current situation in Ukraine.

First, Wang said, China opposes the act of taking the opportunity to incite Cold War thinking, hyping up bloc confrontation, and creating a "new Cold War."

He said that in the face of complex and severe challenges, the world values unity rather than division, and what is needed is dialogue rather than confrontation.

Wang stressed that China will continue to unswervingly stand on the right side of history and on the side of promoting peace talks.

Second, China opposes the practice of double standards that undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.

Some countries emphasize the principle of sovereignty on the Ukraine issue, but keep challenging China's sovereignty and the one-China principle on the Taiwan question, and even deliberately create tensions in the Taiwan Strait, which is obviously a blatant double standard, he added.

Wang said China rejects any attempt to equate the Ukraine crisis with the Taiwan question, noting that China will firmly defend its core interests.

Third, he said China opposes any act to undermine other countries' legitimate right to development.

Some countries have used the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to abuse unilateral sanctions on China and other countries, which is neither justified nor legal, Wang said, adding that such actions undermine normal state-to-state exchanges, violate the prevailing rules of international trade, and lead to further complication and escalation of the Ukraine crisis.

Wang said all parties should jointly resist those actions and strive to build an open, fair and non-discriminatory international cooperation environment.