China has called for more countries to endorse its peace plan for Ukraine.
This came after a round of diplomacy with Indonesia, Brazil and South Africa to support its plan.
Chinese envoy, Li Hui described the three countries as representatives of the Global South and “important forces in promoting world peace” who share similar positions with China.
Li, who is China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs, added that the three countries have maintained communication with both Russia and Ukraine “and stay committed to a political settlement to the crisis through dialogue and negotiation.”
China and Brazil issued a joint peace plan earlier this year that calls for a peace conference with both Ukraine and Russia and no expansion of the battlefield.
China and Russia were absent from a peace summit hosted in Switzerland and attended by Western powers in June. Russia was not invited while China chose not to attend.
Initially, Ukraine said that China had pressured other countries to not attend the Switzerland peace summit.
However, since then, Ukraine has recognised China’s role in a peace process, given its close relationship with Russia.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, paid a visit to the country in July, the first since the war began.
In his remarks, Li noted Ukraine’s recent incursion into Russia and blamed the West for its support of Ukraine.
Early this month, Ukraine opened a new front in the war by attacking the Russian oblast of Kursk, in a surprise move that made clear Russia was also vulnerable.
Zelenskyy said that the aim was to create a buffer zone to protect Ukraine from attacks.
“Military-industrial groups of certain countries are interested in protracting the Ukrainian crisis and continue manipulating it,” special envoy of the Chinese government, Li Hui said at the briefing in conclusion of the fourth round of the shuttle diplomacy on discussions of the conflict in Ukraine.
“All the parties believe that the crisis is lasting and not ending not merely because of [actions of] Russia and Ukraine. Certain military-industrial groups are behind the crisis, which manipulate it, and the global military system these military-industrial groups represent.”
Li Hui
“All sides are worried that the West continues to relax conditions for Ukraine to strike the Russian territory with aided weapons,” Li said.
“And recent developments on the battlefield confirmed these kind of worries,” he added.
Li Criticises Sanctions Imposed On Chinese Firms
Moreover, Li Hui condemned sanctions imposed on Chinese firms.
Speaking at the briefing in Beijing after the latest rounds of meetings with officials from Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa, the Chinese Envoy called these sanctions on its entities “illegal and unilateral” and “not based on facts.”
Last week, the US imposed sanctions on more than 400 entities and individuals for supporting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. The entities included Chinese companies that according to US officials, have helped Moscow in building up its military.
“A particular country uses the crisis … to shift blame in an attempt to fabricate the so-called China responsibility theory and threatens countries that have normal economic and trade ties with Russia with illegal and unilateral sanctions.”
Li Hui
“These words and deeds are totally for their selfish interests and are not based on facts, the international community will never accept them,” Li added.
Although Li did not name the US, China’s commerce ministry, on Sunday, said that it strongly opposes the sanctions and the foreign ministry has expressed similar opposition to previous curbs.
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