China's position on the Ukraine issue has attracted attention

Source: Global Times

"Time will prove that China's proposition is on the right side of history," many foreign media reported on the evening of March 20 that Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi made on the evening of the 19th, when he introduced the exchange of views on the Ukrainian issue in the previous day's U.S. dollar-headed video call. As the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict reaches a stalemate, China's position and possible role are gaining more and more attention from the world. The video call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden on the evening of the 18th clearly and comprehensively expounded China's position on the Ukraine issue and once again expressed its willingness to strengthen cooperation with the international community on the issue of persuasion and promotion of peace. In fact, China has always played an extremely important role in the process of working towards the restoration of peace in Ukraine. On the second day after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict, President Xi Jinping proposed to "support Russia and Ukraine to solve the problem through negotiations" during a phone call with President Putin; on March 8, when he held a video summit with French President Macron and German Chancellor Schoeltz, he once again proposed to support the Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, "talk about results, talk about peace", and said that "all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis should be supported."

This call is "very important"

The video call on the evening of the first 18th of China and the US dollar has aroused great concern in the world. The American News Network reported on the 19th that The Chinese leader said that China and the United States need to "shoulder their due international responsibilities and make efforts for world peace and tranquility."

Thornton, a former US diplomat who has long been in charge of Russian affairs, told the US News Network on the 19th that Xi Jinping's above statement and China's "hope to cease fire as soon as possible" show that Chinese "will not send weapons to Russia."

"Conflict confrontation is not in anyone's interests", the Hindustan Times quoted Xi Jinping on the 19th. According to reports, this is the first phone call between the leaders of China and the United States since the current round of military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The US CNBC financial website said on the 19th that it noticed that the call between the chinese and US dollars began after 9 a.m. Eastern Time on the 18th and lasted for nearly two hours - "For the leader of a country that is regarded as an opponent of the United States, this call time is exceptionally long." According to the summary of the call released by the Chinese side, the call was clearly "very important", and Xi Jinping told Biden that both the United States and China have an obligation to promote peace between Russia and Ukraine. The report quoted Xi Jinping as saying that "the world is neither peaceful nor peaceful", as the world's top two economies, the United States and China "not only to lead the development of Sino-US relations along the right track, but also to assume their due international responsibilities and make efforts for world peace and tranquility."

CNN reported that there are indications that Beijing is "trying to keep options open" when it comes to promoting peace, and that the protracted economic crisis caused by the war will do little good for China in the long run. Zakaria, a well-known foreign policy journalist in the United States, also told the New York Times that China is working hard to "shape and lead" the existing international order, and China has greatly benefited from world stability and peace.

Reuters said on the 19th that the content of the call between the Chinese and US heads of state shows that although Beijing "refuses to explicitly condemn Russia's military action against Ukraine, it still calls for a diplomatic solution to the crisis." According to the report, on the 18th local time, the three major US stock indexes closed higher, of which technology stocks rose the most, because the previously concluded video call between the Chinese and US dollars on the Ukraine issue "did not have a big accident".

China urges the US side to "implement" its positive stance

On the evening of 19 July, Wang Yi was interviewed by reporters in Tunxi, Anhui Province, and gave a briefing on the exchange of views on the Ukrainian issue during a video call between the heads of State of China and the United States. Wang Yi said that President Xi Jinping has clearly and comprehensively stated China's position on the Ukraine issue, and the most important message sent is that China has always been a force for safeguarding world peace. He stressed that China will make judgments independently and autonomously and will never accept any external coercion and pressure.

Wang Yi stressed that President Xi Jinping also proposed a Chinese solution to the Ukrainian crisis, which mainly includes two aspects. It is imperative that all parties work together to promote dialogue and negotiation between the parties, cease fire and end the war as soon as possible, avoid civilian casualties and, above all, prevent humanitarian crises. The long-term approach is to abandon the Cold War mentality, refrain from bloc confrontation, and truly form a balanced, effective and sustainable regional security architecture, so as to achieve long-term peace and stability on the European continent.

When Le Yucheng, Vice Foreign Minister of China, delivered a speech at the International Forum on Strategy and Security hosted by Tsinghua University on the 19th, he was asked to introduce the relevant situation of the first video call between China and the United States. He said that the two sides talked for two hours on Sino-US relations, the situation in Ukraine and other issues, and "the atmosphere was very pragmatic and the exchanges were very frank and in-depth." Regarding the situation in Ukraine, President Xi Jinping specifically quoted two old Chinese sayings, one is "one slap does not ring" and the other is "the bell must be tied to the bell", urging all parties concerned to show political will and continue dialogue and negotiations, "including the United States and NATO should also carry out dialogue with Russia."

In a video call on the evening of the 18th, Biden said that he is willing to maintain close communication with President Xi Jinping and orient the rudder for US-China relations." In fact, the recent series of unilateral sanctions adopted by Western countries led by the United States have not promoted the proper resolution of relevant hot issues, but have further intensified contradictions, and even led to the risk of serious crises in global economic and trade, finance, energy, food, industrial chain and supply chain. Le Yucheng stressed on the 19th that the US side should "implement" President Biden's positive statement on Sino-US relations.

The Ukrainian people look forward to an immediate ceasefire

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Konashenkov said at a press conference on the 20th that the Russian military used high-precision guided missiles to attack the Ukrainian special operations force training center near Zhytomyr, eliminating more than 100 special operations force soldiers and foreign mercenaries. "In addition, Russian 'caliber' sea-based cruise missiles destroyed from the Black Sea waters the workshop of the Nezhin Maintenance Plant to repair Ukrainian armored vehicles damaged in battle." He also said that from Crimean airspace, the Russian military used a "dagger" hypersonic missile to destroy a major military fuel base in Ukraine's Nikolayev Oblast. This is the first time that the Russian side has confirmed the use of such a missile with a speed of more than 10 times the speed of sound in its military operations against Ukraine.

In the heavily warring southern port city of Mariupol, Alistovich, an assistant to the president's office, acknowledged that the area was "about to fall completely into the hands of" Russian forces because the nearest Ukrainian troops were also 60 miles outside the city and were in combat. The report also said that Russian soldiers and tanks had entered the city's urban area and blocked the Azov Sea passage.

According to the Ukrainian news agency reported on the 20th, the Russian-Ukrainian war has left 300,000 residents in Mariupol unable to leave, they are facing an extreme shortage of daily necessities and medicines, and even the local ICRC staff have to hide in the basement without heating.

From the northeastern war zone city of Sumy, Yulia, who fled with her children and daughters to the western city of Lviv, told the Global Times reporter on the 20th that she did not know where to escape to be safe, because her husband was a policeman and did not flee with them. Yulia said she did not understand what politicians were hesitating about and only hoped that the two sides would immediately stop fighting. As for whether Ukraine should join NATO, she said she did not know enough about the matter, "but if the reason for Russia's current attack on Ukraine is this, then the Zelenskiy government should give up joining."

Someone handed an olive branch, someone continued to hand a knife

On the 19th, Podolyak, an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia may last at least a few weeks. At the same time, the international force of persuasion and promotion of peace and talks has been increasing. Turkish Presidential Spokesman Kalin said on the 19th that the goal of the country's efforts is to promote a "direct meeting" between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents as soon as possible. Turkey believes it is possible to reach a peace agreement between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, he said. According to a report by Russian TELEVISION On the 20th, The Chairman of the Swiss Federal Council Cassis said on the 19th that Switzerland is ready to play the role of behind-the-scenes mediator or negotiation host in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

According to the Russian Interfax News Agency reported on the 20th, on the 19th, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and French President Macron had a telephone conversation. The two sides discussed a solution to the Ukrainian crisis peacefully. Zelenskiy stressed that Ukraine has been seeking a peaceful solution and is "now of particular interest". On the 18th, according to the Proposal of the French side, Russian President Putin and Macron also had a telephone conversation. Putin once again stressed that during the special military operation, the Russian military did its best to protect the lives of civilians, including the opening of humanitarian corridors to enable their safe withdrawal. On the 19th, Putin outlined a basic assessment of the Russian-Ukrainian negotiation process during a phone call with Luxembourg Prime Minister Bertel. It was the second call between the two in a week.

However, there are always forces that hinder efforts to achieve peace. On March 20, local time, France announced the freezing of 22 billion euros of assets of the Central Bank of Russia. On the same day, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced additional military aid to Ukraine, bringing Australia's military aid to Ukraine to a total of $91 million ($66.3 million), and he also announced a ban on the export of alumina and aluminum ore to Russia. Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Commission of Ukraine, revealed in a television interview on the 19th that Ukraine will get a new batch of weapons provided by the United States in the next few days, including "Javelin" anti-tank missiles and "Stinger" surface-to-air missiles. Russian State Duma President Volodin said on the 19th that the United States and NATO countries should stop supplying weapons to Ukraine and stop sending mercenaries: "Everything that happened in Ukraine today, including civilian deaths and refugees, is directly responsible for Europe and the United States." ”

According to CNN reported on the 19th, since the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict, more than 3 million Ukrainians have fled their country, but since October last year, only a small number of them - about 690 people have come to the United States as refugees, while since Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine last month, Ukrainian refugees who have come to the United States can be ignored. CNN quoted critics as saying: "The United States lacks both refugee reception and leadership. ”

[Global Times Special Correspondent to Ukraine Wu Duoke Global Times Special Correspondent in the United States Yingchen Liu Yupeng]

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