UN envoy: China had no part in creating crisis in Ukraine

China's top UN envoy reiterated on Thursday that China is "not a creator of the Ukraine crisis" but rather, it promotes peace and a political solution.

"China is not a creator of the Ukraine crisis, much less a party to it," Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said at a Security Council meeting initiated by Russia to discuss the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine.

"However, we did not sit by. On the contrary, we have all along insisted on promoting peace and negotiation and pushing for a political solution, (to) which the international community can bear witness," Fu said.

Fu made his statement to refute a US envoy's claim that China's "partnership and large-scale support is propping up the Russian defense industrial base".

"Russia deploys its acquisitions from China in attacks that kill civilians and destroy Ukraine's infrastructure," said Robert Wood, US deputy permanent representative to the UN.

China's effort to promote peace in the Ukraine conflict "is not something that the United States can write off simply by resorting to slandering", Fu said.

He emphasized that China has "never poured oil on the fire or taken advantage of the situation, nor has it provided lethal weapons to any party to the conflict. China exercises stricter control over military and civilian dual-use items.

"The Chinese enterprises carry out normal economic and trade cooperation with other countries, including Russia and Ukraine, in accordance with the rules of the WTO and the rules of the market. This is totally reasonable, justified and beyond reproach," Fu added.

Fu mentioned Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's visit to China and said the two sides had in-depth exchanges of views on the Ukraine crisis.

"We note that Foreign Minister Kuleba said that Ukraine values China's views and has carefully studied the six-point understandings proposed by China and Brazil on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and that Ukraine is willing and ready to engage in dialogue and negotiation with Russia," he said.

Kuleba met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday in Guangzhou, the first visit to China by a Ukrainian foreign minister since the military conflict with Russian began in February 2022.

The Ukraine situation occurred against the "backdrop of historical complexities and practical realities", Fu said, adding that it is "in essence an eruption of security dynamics in Europe".

"China had no part in creating this crisis, nor is it a party to the conflict. China has not provided lethal weaponry to any party to the conflict and has not and will not do anything to profit from it. China's position on the Ukraine issue has been consistent and clear. It is to urge and promote peace through a political settlement," he said.