President Xi and President Biden stick to their respective positions over Ukraine in their first talk since war began; China says, on the right side of history
US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on Friday in their first virtual summit after the Russian military action began in Ukraine, to discuss US-China relations, the situation in Ukraine and issues of common interest. President Xi appealed for negotiations to bring the crisis to a halt while President Biden stressed there will be consequences for Beijing if it provides support to Moscow. Chinese Foreign Ministry readout on Saturday said President Xi pointed out that China does not want to see the situation in Ukraine to come to this. As the Ukraine Russia war has entered its fourth week, President Xi said all sides need to jointly support Russia and Ukraine in having dialogue and negotiation that will produce results and lead to peace. The US and NATO should also have a dialogue with Russia to address the crux of the Ukraine crisis and ease the security concerns of both Russia and Ukraine, he said while opposing economic sanctions on Russia.
In its stance, Beijing has avoided overt criticism of Russia’s actions in Ukraine even as a senior Ukraine official on Saturday urged China to join Western countries in condemning Russia. Analysts say that China is attempting to navigate “a middle path” between openly supporting Russia but without further antagonizing the United States and the west as China wants to avoid being impacted by the western sanctions. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday reiterated the country’s stance on Ukraine saying that it is objective, fair and consistent with the wishes of most countries, and time will prove China’s stance is on the right side of history.
Earlier this week, Wang Yi said during a phone call with his Spanish counterpart that “China is not a party to the Ukraine crisis and doesn’t want the sanctions to affect China.” The statement came amid increasing concerns over Beijing considering helping its ally Moscow by providing military equipment to be used in the war in Ukraine which Beijing has denied labeling the allegations “misinformation”. On Wednesday, Beijing also backed the comments made by China’s ambassador to Ukraine, Fan Xianrong who told Lviv regional government that “China will never attack Ukraine. We will help, especially economically.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping also told his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Friday that the Taiwan issue needs to be handled properly to avoid a negative impact on Sino-U.S. relations. According to the Chinese readout, Biden reiterated that the US does not seek a new Cold War with China; it does not aim to change China’s system; the revitalization of its alliances is not targeted at China; the US does not support “Taiwan independence”; and it has no intention to seek a conflict with China. “I take these remarks very seriously,” said President Xi as quoted in the Chinese foreign ministry readout.
Against this backdrop, Chinese state media reported that China signed new rules on the supervision of military equipment purchase contracts on Saturday, part of long-term efforts by the country to modernize its military. The latest rules aim to improve efficiency in the supervision of military equipment purchase contracts and make sure good quality equipment is delivered to the army, Xinhua said, without giving specific details.
Meanwhile, Beijing is reportedly trying to convince Indonesia to take the Ukraine conflict off the agenda at the G-20 group’s summit in Bali, saying it should stick to economic matters. The United Nations has said that more than 800 civilians have been confirmed killed so far in Ukraine, although the real number is likely to be much higher, and more than 3 million refugees have fled the country.
