China pledges to act as 'neutral party' in Russia-Ukraine conflict

China claims to be an impartial party in the conflict in Ukraine, but it has come under fire for not denouncing Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.

Last year, Beijing published a paper proposing a “political settlement” to the conflict that, according to Western nations, would allow Russia to keep most of the territory it has taken over in Ukraine.

On Wednesday, the Chinese officials, however stated that “restoring peace is the most urgent thing at the moment,”.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning told a briefing, “In the last two years, we have never given up in our efforts to promote peace and have never stopped promoting talks.”

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“Everything we have done leads to one target, which is to build consensus to end the war and pave the way for peace talks,” she said.

“We will continue to play our unique role, conduct shuttle diplomacy, build consensus among all parties, and contribute Chinese wisdom to promote a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis,” Mao said.

China and Russia have in recent years ramped up economic cooperation and diplomatic contacts, and their strategic partnership has grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin declared during a summit in Moscow last year that ties were “entering a new era”.

And in Russia this week, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong declared relations “are at their best period in history”.

Analysts say China holds the upper hand in the relationship with Russia and that its sway is growing as Moscow’s international isolation deepens.

With inputs from AFP