China Willing To Play Constructive Role in Promoting Peace Talks, Says Wang Yi at Annual Press Conference

March 7, 2022 (EIRNS)—Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held his annual press conference today on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress, fielding questions for nearly two hours. Declaring that the world today is far from peaceful, he said, “Countries need unity, not division, dialogue, not confrontation.” A good portion of the press conference was taken up with the situation in Ukraine and its implications for the world.

“China is ready to continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace talks and work with the international community to mediate as necessary. We should uphold the vision of common, comprehensive cooperation, and sustainable security, stop conflicts through negotiation, settle disputes through dialogue, enhance mutual trust through cooperation and jointly build a world of lasting peace.”

He complained that certain countries were holding on to maintaining their hegemony.

“We should uphold true multilateralism, advocate the common values of mankind, oppose hegemony and power, defend the international system with the UN at its core, uphold the basic norms governing relations based on the purposes of the UN Charter, and make the global governance fairer and more equitable. We should build a new type of international relations.”

When asked about the Russia-China relations, he said that their cooperation “contributes to peace and development.” It was based on the independence of the two parties and they opposed any interference into the relationship by third parties. He referred to their Joint Statement issued on Feb 4. Wang Yi said that the statement “sent an unequivocal message that China and Russia are opposed to a new Cold War” and the two will “maintain a strategic focus for the new era.”

With regard to U.S.-China relations, he said that the U.S. had stated that it didn’t want a Cold War and didn’t want to change the Chinese system and opposed Taiwan independence, but that they have yet to put those claims in practice. The U.S. “keeps provoking China on its core interests. How the U.S. and China will get along still has be worked out,” he explained. He also scored the “Indo-Pacific strategy,” stating: “This is a byword for bloc politics. They claim to follow international rules, but follow their own rules. This is no blessing for the region. The aim is to create an Asian NATO, and it will subvert the self-determination of the region. The Asia-Pacific is a promising land for cooperation, not a chessboard for geopolitical contest.”

On Europe, he considered that the relationship should not be controlled by a third party, and that the Europeans should view the relationship from a strategic perspective. “I hope Europe will adopt a more rational view on China as the cooperation will deliver more benefits to the world.”