Chinese foreign affairs chief Wang Yi spoke during the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday (Johannes Simon/Getty Images)
Beijing is ready to present its peace proposal for Ukraine, its top diplomat announced Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, in a rare comment in which, for the first time, he referred to the Ukraine conflict as a war.
“This war cannot continue,” said Wang Yi, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy adviser.
China’s proposal will respect the territorial and sovereign integrity of all countries, Wang said, adding that Beijing will continue to work for peace.
“Of course we can continue to proclaim our positions at international conferences like this, but I suggest that we also need to start thinking calmly, especially my friends in Europe,” he said.
“We need to think regarding what efforts we can make to end this war,” Wang added.
a bit of context: Many European Union leaders in Munich remain suspicious of Beijing’s intentions as Wang called on European countries to change their approach to the war.
US Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday the US was “concerned” by China’s continued support for Russia since the war in Ukraine began.
And the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, told CNN on Saturday: “We need more evidence that China is not working with Russia, and we are not seeing it right now.”
China has repeatedly refused to condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. In late 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that his partnership was more important than ever in the face of “unprecedented pressure” from the West. Xi echoed Putin’s message of unity, saying the two countries should “strengthen strategic coordination” and “inject more stability into the world,” according to Chinese state media Xinhua.
In September 2022, Putin admitted that Beijing had “questions and concerns” regarding the invasion, in what appeared to be a veiled admission of divergent views on the war.
China’s top diplomat will also visit Russia this month, according to its Foreign Ministry, marking the first visit to the country by a Chinese official in that capacity since the war began.
