FM: Don't use Ukraine to harm China

China opposes countries exploiting the Ukraine crisis to harm China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.

Wang expressed China's concerns over the Ukraine situation in a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Bali on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The G20 meeting runs until Friday in Indonesia, which holds the rotating presidency of the group this year.

Wang criticized some countries emphasizing the principle of sovereignty on the Ukraine issue while challenging China's sovereignty over Taiwan and the one-China principle to the point of deliberately creating tensions in the Taiwan Straits.

"It is obviously double standards," he said. "Beijing rejects any attempt to compare the Ukraine crisis with the Taiwan question and will firmly safeguard its core interests."

The US and its Western allies have slapped sanctions on Russia over Ukraine.

Wang denounced countries using the Ukraine crisis as a pretext to damage the legitimate rights and development interests of other countries. He added that the wanton imposition of unilateral sanctions on China and other countries is neither justified nor legal.

It undermined the normal exchanges among countries, violated the general rules of international trade, and complicated and aggravated the Ukraine crisis, Wang said.

He called for all parties to jointly reject such actions and foster an international cooperative environment that is open, fair and nondiscriminatory.

Wang said China is against taking advantage of the Ukraine crisis to incite a Cold War mentality, stoke bloc confrontation and create a "new Cold War".

Facing severe and complicated challenges, Wang said what the world needs is unity and dialogue, rather than confrontation and division. He reaffirmed that China would continue to stand on the right side of history and facilitate peace talks on the Ukraine issue.

The talks with the Indian official were in the second face-to-face meeting between the two foreign ministers following Wang's working visit to India in March.

Wang also had a series of bilateral meetings on Thursday with counterparts including Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

During the talks with Retno, Wang noted that China firmly supported Indonesia in the presidency of the G20 in maintaining normal exchanges in the international community as well as unity in the group.

China would like to work with Indonesia to make common cause for developing countries and emerging economies, and to promote rational, practical and constructive dialogue and interactions among all parties, Wang added.

Since this is the first year of the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership, the two foreign ministers agreed to take it as an opportunity to make steady progress in China-ASEAN relations.

Wang pledged China would strongly support the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and uphold an effective ASEAN-centered regional cooperation architecture to form a closer community with a shared future.

He called for the rejection of a Cold War mentality and bloc politics, and to uphold the hard-won peace and stability in the region.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Wang will also meet with foreign ministers from countries including the United States, France and Australia on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

zhaojia@chinadaily.com.cn