Self-exposed culpability in the smearing of China

It is clear that the United States, as the initiator of the Ukraine crisis, does not wish to see a peaceful settlement of it.

The US portrays itself as the protector of peace, even though the world knows it is gaining tremendously, economically and strategically, from the escalation of the tensions and it is exerting diplomatic pressure on any parties that refuse to join its sanctions club against Russia, including China.

In a recent think tank forum, Le Yucheng, China's vice-foreign minister, touched upon the series of claims made by US politicians in their attempts to scapegoat China over the US-hatched crisis.

While providing large amounts of weapons and intelligence to Ukraine, these US politicians have fabricated and spread the rumor that China is providing Russia with weapons, without giving any evidence.

They have also claimed that Russia informed China of the "special military operation" it was planning before it was launched, in a bid to somehow hold China accountable for the conflict.

The tough sanctions against Russia are not mandated by the United Nations, and are typical unilateral sanctions and lack international legitimacy. China has no obligation to participate in them. Only a handful of 40-odd countries have actually joined the sanctions regime, mainly countries that are US allies.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the only one of the five that does not have a direct interest in the crisis, China always upholds a neutral stance, and will obviously not participate in such illegal sanctions.

That Washington hints that if China turns its back on Russia that can be a turning point to thaw the frosty Sino-US relations indicates the extent to which Washington misjudges relations between Beijing and Moscow.

US politicians have even gone so far as to parallel the Taiwan question with the Ukraine crisis in a bid to confuse the international community on two distinctly different issues.

With more than 6,000 Chinese people studying and living in Ukraine, China is the country's largest trade partner, and the two sides have broad cooperation in various fields. China has nothing to gain from the Ukraine conflict.

China always advocates dialogue for the peaceful settlement of disputes and differences between countries. China continues to promote talks between Russia and Ukraine as the way to end the crisis. The US should refrain from pursuing its own security at the expense of the security of others. The world should not be misled by the US as it risks turning a regional crisis into a global one.