Real efforts needed to end Ukraine crisis: China Daily editorial

Despite China's neutral stance and the tremendous efforts it has made to help set the table for talks between Moscow and Kyiv, the United States maintains its position that China is an enabler of Russian aggression, and thus a substantial threat to the "civilized world".

By entangling China in the Ukraine crisis, Washington hopes to sow discord between European countries, the major victims of the crisis, and China; provide the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a pretense to regard China as a systemic challenge, paving its way to the Asia-Pacific; and create an excuse to sanction Chinese entities citing their dealings with Russia.

As a matter of fact, the US maintains its trade and economic relations with Russia directly and via third parties such as India.

Moreover, Washington has been trying to equate Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine with what it warns is the Chinese mainland's imminent "invasion" of Taiwan island, despite the fundamentally different nature of the two issues, thus giving its local allies including those in Tokyo, Manila and Taipei, excuses to join hands with it to create a stronger united front against Beijing.

The US is trying various means to influence public opinion and mislead the world that Beijing is providing Moscow with concealed military assistance and helping it enhance its arms production capacity. So, naturally it will jump at any direct contacts between Beijing and Moscow, be it on bilateral or multilateral occasions, as an opportunity to splash more dirty water on China.

That's been true for Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's ongoing trip to Russia. Although Wang is visiting the country mainly to attend a BRICS gathering on security affairs in St. Petersburg on Wednesday and Thursday, some in the US have attempted to interpret Wang's meeting with Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday as an indication of China preparing to provide Russia with fresh support.

As a matter of fact, the meeting of Wang and Shoigu was mainly focused on bilateral cooperation and communication under BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other multilateral frameworks for the benefit of the two peoples and beyond.

This year, based on the new starting point of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Moscow, the two sides have maintained exchanges at all levels and further consolidated the political and social foundations of their friendly relations.

As regards the Ukraine crisis, as Wang stressed, China has always maintained an objective and fair attitude toward it, and it remains committed to a cease-fire and a political solution to the crisis.

Instead, it is the US that is trying to prolong the hostilities by providing weapons to Ukraine, sabotaging any pro-peace efforts of other parties, and smearing the peace-brokers as "accomplices" of Moscow.

In a recent interview with the media, former US under secretary of state Victoria Nuland revealed that it was the US, the United Kingdom and other backers of Ukraine that told Kyiv to reject the deal reached at the 2022 Istanbul peace talks with Russia.

China is not the instigator of the Ukraine crisis nor is it a party to it. It has never fanned the flames of the conflict, nor has it used the situation to serve its own purposes.

It is high time that, instead of "high-sounding rhetoric", the US made "real efforts to promote peace talks and ease the crisis", as Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said at a recent UN Security Council briefing on the supplying of arms to Ukraine.