Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, said that “the door to dialogue in Ukraine is open, and all parties should strive to reach a comprehensive and lasting peace agreement and eliminate the root causes of the conflict,” and called on Europe to be more active in peace efforts, according to a correspondent for Interfax-Ukraine.
“The doors to dialogue have finally opened on the ‘Ukrainian crisis’ (Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine – IF-U). All interested parties should seize the opportunity to achieve a comprehensive, durable, and binding peace agreement, eliminate the root causes of the conflict, and ensure lasting peace and stability in Europe,” he said.
According to the Chinese foreign minister, Europe should not stand by and watch.
“Since the conflict broke out here in Europe, Europe has every right to participate in the negotiations at the appropriate time. Europe should not be on the menu, but at the negotiating table,” he said.
“Now we see that Europe has found the courage to negotiate with Russia. This is good, and we support it,” Wang Yi emphasized.
At the same time, in his opinion, dialogue should not be conducted for the sake of dialogue itself, and Europe should offer new ideas and new plans to resolve this issue.
” And in this process, we need to promote the creation of a more balanced, effective, and sustainable security architecture for Europe. Consequently, by doing so, we are addressing the root causes of the crisis and can prevent its recurrence. And to achieve sustainable and lasting peace, China, for its part, will fully support the peace process,” the foreign minister concluded.
He also clarified that China is not a party directly involved in the conflict, has no right to make a final decision, and is only facilitating peace talks.
Regarding relations between China and the EU, Wang Yi expressed his conviction that they should be partners, not systemic rivals or strategic competitors.
“But there are differences and disagreements between our two sides, for example, our social systems, our values, and our development models, but that is because we have different histories and cultures, and based on that, our peoples have different choices regarding the path of development. But that does not mean that we should become rivals or competitors,” the minister said.
He declared that it is more important for China and the EU to practice multilateralism, defend the authority of the UN, say “no” to unilateral practices, uphold free trade, and oppose bloc confrontation.
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