E-Paper
China’s Xi Jinping calls for ‘maximum restraint’ in Ukraine, strongly opposes sanctions
China is ‘deeply grieved by the outbreak of war again on the European continent’, a readout quoted him as saying in his strongest statement to date following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for “maximum restraint” to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine but strongly opposed sanctions against Russia by western countries in a video summit with his French and German counterparts, according to an official readout.
China is “deeply grieved by the outbreak of war again on the European continent”, the readout quoted him as saying in his strongest statement to date following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Chinese president, however, stopped short of calling the conflict an invasion, using the word crisis instead a few times in the statement.
Nearly two weeks into Russia sending troops into Ukraine, China has refused to condemn Moscow’s attack or call it an invasion while asking western countries to respect Russia’s “legitimate security concerns”.
Xi Jinping told French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that China is willing to “play an active role” in settling the ongoing crisis “according to the needs of all parties concerned”.
“China will be pleased to see equal-footed dialogue among the European Union, Russia, the United States and Nato,” Xi told the two European leaders.
“The pressing task at the moment is to prevent the tense situation from escalating or even running out of control,” he told Macron and Scholz.
“We need to call for maximum restraint to prevent a massive humanitarian crisis,” Xi said.
Xi added that China stands ready to provide Ukraine with further humanitarian aid supplies.
The Chinese president opposed economic sanctions against Russia, saying they will “…affect global finance, energy, transportation and stability of supply chains, and dampen the global economy that is already ravaged by the pandemic. And this is in the interest of no one”.
The Chinese statement quoted Macron and Scholz as saying that Europe was “…facing the worst crisis since World War II. France and Germany support reaching a settlement through negotiation and giving peace a chance”.
