China has said it is not seeking to benefit from the fighting in Ukraine. The comments came as Russia’s top diplomat travelled to Beijing to discuss issues including the Ukrainian military conflict.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Monday:
“China is not the creator of, nor a party to, the Ukraine crisis, and we have not and will not do anything to seek profit from it. Beijing will continue to promote peace talks in our own way (and) maintain communication with relevant parties, including Russia and Ukraine. China has always controlled exports of dual-use items whose military applications are alleged to have assisted Russian troops. Relevant countries should not smear and attack the normal state-to-state relations between China and Russia… let alone shift the blame onto China and provoke bloc confrontation.”
Ms. Mao did not mention the US by name, but Washington is warning allies that Beijing has stepped up support for Moscow, including by providing geospatial intelligence.
US President Joe Biden expressed concern about this to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during their recent conversation, White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in China on 8 April for talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. The talks will cover topics such as Ukraine and the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Mr. Putin is set to visit China in May, which could be his first foreign trip since winning the election. The Russian president, who has met Xi more than 40 times, was last in China in October.
