Russia-Ukraine crisis: Cold War is over, Chinese foreign minister says in call for diplomatic solution
- Those questioning China’s stand on Ukraine’s territorial integrity are guilty of distortion, Wang Yi tells Munich Security Conference
- But he also warns against further Nato expansion, reiterating a stance jointly upheld by presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin recently in Beijing
“All countries’ sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity must be safeguarded because these are the basic principles in international relations established through the United Nations Constitution,” Wang told the 58th Munich Security Conference via video link on Saturday.
“This is also what China has been upholding, with no exception regarding Ukraine. If some people are still questioning where China stands on this issue, it is deliberate hype and distortion.”
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He also urged Europe, Russia and the United States to agree on a road map to implement the Minsk peace accords, adding that it was the only path to solve the crisis. The 2014 and 2015 accords – brokered by France and Germany – sought to end the Russian-backed separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region, but sporadic fighting continues.
“Currently what all parties should do is to take responsibility and work for peace, instead of hyping up issues, creating panic and trumpeting the threat of war, ” Wang said.
Wang’s remarks to the more than 30 heads of state and hundreds of ministers at the virtual meeting were the latest assertion of China’s position on the tensions along Ukraine’s eastern border, where Russia has been amassing troops for months in the largest build-up since the Cold War.
Given Beijing’s warming ties with Moscow, international speculation has been rife on whether it would back a Russian invasion in a security crisis that has put world powers on edge.
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China and Russia’s new-found “better-than-alliance” relationship has also prompted some observers to wonder whether Beijing planned to take advantage of the crisis to invade Taiwan – which it sees as a breakaway province to be reunited by force if needed – and expect a similar stance of non-interference from Moscow if it did.
Wang Yiwei, director of the Centre for European Studies at Beijing’s Renmin University, said the minister’s comments were in line with China’s continuous support for Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty as part of their 30 years of bilateral relations, just as Ukraine had vowed its support to China in defending its own sovereignty.
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“The underlying message is not to overinterpret or have false associations of China-Russia relations … The demonising of China’s stance is worrying,” he said.
But while China has been calling for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine-Russia crisis, it also says Moscow’s “reasonable” security concerns should be addressed.
Zhang Jun, China’s permanent UN representative to the United Nations, last week said Russia had valid reason to be worried about the 30-nation Nato’s eastward expansion to its borders. Moscow insists that Ukraine, a former Soviet state, should not be made a member of the security alliance.
Artyom Lukin, an associate professor at Russia’s Far Eastern Federal University, said Wang’s speech made at least three key points that could be interpreted as support for Russia.
“He said Nato’s expansion eastward is a bad thing; the Minsk agreements must be implemented; and Russia’s legitimate security concerns should be respected. These are all positions that are perfectly aligned with Moscow’s stance,” Lukin said.
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While Wang’s remark about Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity was arguably more ambivalent, it did not contradict Russia’s official position, “since Moscow itself does not question Ukraine’s formal sovereignty and territorial integrity”, he noted.
Lukin also said the West would not be too happy about the comments, “because Wang’s subtext is that [China] holds full sovereignty over Taiwan and the South China Sea”.
“If the West stands for Ukrainian sovereignty, why does it deny China effective sovereignty over Taiwan?”
The latest Munich conference came amid an escalation in the conflict in Donbas, the pro-Russian separatist territory in eastern Ukraine, prompting warnings from the US and some Nato powers that it was a pretext for imminent military action from Russia.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also addressed the Munich meeting, criticised Nato for not imposing sanctions on Russia despite the crisis and also refusing to let Ukraine join the security alliance.
