By Zheng Xuefang
Recently, Ambassador Dai Bing, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, made the remarks on the Ukraine issue at the Security Council, expressing that there is no winner in conflict and confrontation, and dialogue and negotiation is the only realistic and feasible way to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. He also called on the international community to focus on promoting peace talks, encouraging Russia and Ukraine to return to negotiations, and accumulating conditions for an early ceasefire and cessation of hostilities.
Since the outbreak of Ukraine crisis, China has proactively been committed to promoting peace talks, and called on the international community to create conditions for dialogue and negotiation between Russia and Ukraine. Facts have fully proved that China has always stood on the side of peace, while standing up for justice and fairness, making independent judgments, advocating the maintenance of international law and the recognized basic norms of international relations, adhering to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and upholding a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security concept.
China has firmly advocated peace. The development of the Ukraine-Russia conflict so far is something that China and all the other peace-loving countries and people do not want to see. Relevant events have once again shown that conflicts and confrontations are in the interests of no one; instead, peace and security is what the international community values the most. Escalating sanctions or providing weapons will only make the situation more difficult and may even provoke more confrontations and exacerbate the conflict, which must be avoided at all costs. China, as a responsible great power, supports all efforts conducive to achieving the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis and has played a constructive role in promoting peace talks in its own way.
China has made great efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. According to the statement issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Office in Germany, the total number of Ukrainian refugees has reached nearly 14 million, more than one third of the country's total population. China has always attached great importance to the humanitarian issues in Ukraine, and has put forward specific initiatives on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, while providing emergency humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in batches and supplies to European countries receiving large numbers of refugees.
At present, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still ongoing, with innumerable families in Ukraine and neighboring countries in urgent need of humanitarian relief. International humanitarian agencies should maintain neutrality and impartiality, actively mobilize and coordinate more resources, and make unremitting efforts to save lives and protect civilians. China has also called on the parties concerned to abide by international humanitarian law and back up the United Nations in playing an important coordinating role in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
China has always opposed the use of sanctions to solve problems, let alone unilateral sanctions that has no basis in international law. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US has continuously escalated unilateral sanctions against Russia, and coerced other countries of the world to choose a side. The Ukraine crisis has to be properly dealt with, and sanctions are not an effective means to solve it, which will instead accelerate the spillover of the crisis and bring new and complex problems. The international community, in particular countries with major influence on the current situation, should encourage Russia and Ukraine to engage in dialogue and help open the door to a political solution of the crisis, rather than add fuel to the flames and highly advocate sanctions.
China has always advocated measures to address both symptoms and root causes of the conflict. The development of the Ukrainian situation so far is a result of the long-term accumulation and continuous evolution of deep-seated security imbalance in Europe. The key to resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict is for the parties concerned to show political will, engage in dialogue and negotiations, promote ceasefire and find a proper solution; The fundamental solution to the problem lies in the mutual respect among major powers, the abandonment of the Cold War mentality and bloc politics or camp confrontation, while gradually constructing a balanced, effective, and sustainable global and regional security architecture. The US and NATO, on the other hand, should engage in dialogue with Russia to address the crux of the crisis in Ukraine and resolve the security concerns of both Russia and Ukraine.
The world today has entered a new period of turbulence and change. In the face of a complex and volatile world, China has all along stood on the right side of history, on the side of peace, and on the side of human progress. No matter how the international situation changes, China will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefits, push forward to build new-type international relations, uphold the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and work with all progressive forces in the world to push the wheel of history towards bright prospects.
(Author is from Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy research center)
