Speaking at the United Nations on Saturday, China urged Russia and Ukraine not to let the effects of their war “spill over” and called for a diplomatic solution.
Speaking before the UN General Assembly, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi came close to vigorously backing the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which is a nominal Beijing ally.
“We call on all parties concerned to prevent the crisis from spreading and protect the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries,” Wang said.
He called for “fair and pragmatic” peace talks to solve all global problems.
“China supports all efforts conducive to a peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis. The urgent priority is to facilitate peace talks,” Wang said.
“The fundamental solution is to address the legitimate security concerns of all parties and build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture.”
During his visit to the United Nations, Wang met Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in their first talks since Russia invaded its neighbor on February 24.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged Chinese “concerns” about Ukraine in a meeting with his counterpart Xi Jinping.
Before the war, Putin had visited Beijing and the two nations declared a close alliance.
But US officials are heartened by what they see as China’s lack of concrete support for the war, saying Beijing has turned down requests for supplies of military equipment, forcing Russia to rely on North Korea and Iran since its own supplies are dwindling.
