Ukraine war: China going its ‘own way’ on peace process, says foreign minister

Beijing has been going its “own way” to foster peace talks on the war in Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday (March 14) as his Spanish counterpart became the latest European diplomat to lobby for China to mediate.

“From the first day of the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, we have been using our way to foster peace talks as a Permanent Five member of the United Nations Security Council,” Wang told Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares in a phone call.

The call was arranged “by invitation” of the other side, according to the Chinese readout.

Albares was quoted in China’s official readout saying Spain wished the war could be ended through dialogue and diplomatic means as soon as possible.

“We hope China can make a positive impact in fostering peace,” Albares said, according to the Chinese government’s version of the call.

The Spanish government published a one-line statement following the call, which quoted Albares as saying: “I have talked to my counterpart from China, Wang Yi, about the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the means to end it.”

According to the Chinese readout, Wang voiced clear opposition to Western sanctions.

“China is not involved in the crisis and we do not wish to be affected by the sanctions. China has the right to defend its own interests,” Wang said.

“The Ukrainian crisis is a result of the accumulation of Europe’s security conflicts. While China encourages Russia and Ukraine to cease fire, we wish to see fair peace talks between Europe and Russia,” Wang said, adding that China wished Spain would contribute to resolving the issue.

Wang accused “some forces”, without specifically mentioning any, of “smearing China’s fair and objective stance on the Ukrainian problem and producing all sorts of disinformation”.

Both China and Russia denied reports at the weekend saying Russia had asked Beijing for military help.

Wang said China “holds the best record in the world” on issues related to peace and security, and repeated Beijing’s stance of not supporting the sanctioning of Russia.

While Beijing said it was willing to take up a “constructive role” and supported a ceasefire, it has made little effort publicly and has not called Russia’s attack on Ukraine an “invasion” or a “war”.

European governments have identified China as a potential peacemaker after China and Russia called each other their “most important strategic partner”.

Beijing has offered rhetorical backing for Moscow to blame the West for the war, a conflict identified by Europe as its most imminent security threat, as it rumbled into its third week.

In a leadership-level meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China was willing to maintain “coordination with France, Germany and the EU” on the issue and warned that sanctions on Russia could “drag down” the global economy .

In addition to the phone meeting with Spain’s foreign minister, Wang has talked to his counterparts from France and Italy in the past week.