China states stance after US-Russia dialogue on Ukraine conflict

China's foreign minister recently said he supported US President Donald Trump's efforts to reach an agreement with Russia to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to Reuters.

"China supports all efforts that are conducive to peace (in Ukraine), including the recent consensus reached between the United States and Russia," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told other G20 foreign ministers in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 20, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 20.

“China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis politically ,” Wang added. He did not repeat the view he expressed at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 14 that all parties involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict should participate in any peace talks.

"China is generally happy to see the improvement of US-Russia relations and the Ukraine crisis moving towards a political solution, but will pay close attention to the direction of negotiations and the direction of improvement in US-Russia relations. If China participates in mediation, it can reduce the risk of the US using improved relations with Russia to harm China's interests," Reuters quoted Cui Hongjian, dean of the European Union studies department at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Mr. Putin explains why Russia-US meeting without Ukraine, EU

Less than a month after taking office, President Trump reversed US policy on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, canceling the campaign to isolate Moscow with a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a dialogue between senior US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on February 18 that left Ukraine aside.

The Trump administration said on Friday it had agreed to hold more talks with Russia on ending the nearly three-year conflict after a four-and-a-half-hour U.S.-Russian dialogue in Saudi Arabia. Russia said the talks were productive but toughened its demands, in particular saying it would not accept NATO membership for Ukraine.

Some analysts believe that China wants to keep a foot in the Russia-Ukraine conflict negotiations because it wants to be involved in Ukraine's reconstruction, according to Reuters. "China could shift its attention to discussing its role in reconstruction and peacekeeping, which would give Beijing a significantly larger stake in the European security architecture," said Ruby Osman, a China expert at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change in the UK.

Meanwhile, Mr. Wang met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg on February 20. Mr. Wang said that China is willing to work with Russia to fully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and further promote China-Russia relations in the new year, according to Xinhua.

For his part, Mr. Lavrov said that Russia is ready to cooperate with China to increase high-level exchanges and deepen practical cooperation in economics, trade, finance, culture and other fields.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trung-quoc-neu-lap-truong-sau-cuoc-doi-thoai-my-nga-ve-xung-dot-ukraine-185250221152547821.htm