Beijing has never provided weapons to either side of the Ukrainian conflict and does not intend to tolerate G7 attempts to put the blame on China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday.
“China has always been open and honest about the Ukrainian crisis, has not provided lethal weapons to either side of the conflict, strictly controls dual-use goods and will never accept the G7’s attempts to shift blame or label China,” the Global Times quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.
Lin Jian commented on the statement of the G7 foreign ministers, in which the ministers condemned Beijing for allegedly transferring weapons and dual-use goods to Moscow.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that the authors of the statement ignored the facts and deliberately vilified China, interfering in the internal affairs of the country. He emphasized that Beijing is extremely dissatisfied with such a position of the G7 and strongly opposes the statement.
In a joint statement issued on Thursday night, the G7 foreign ministers condemned countries they believe are supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine.
“We condemn the provision of military support to Russia by the DPRK and Iran, as well as the provision of arms and dual-use goods by China,” the statement said.
The ministers also expressed concern over the “military build-up by the Chinese army” and “unilateral attempts to change the status quo, in particular by force or coercion” in the East China Sea and South China Sea.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has arrived in Beijing, scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday, Bloomberg reported.
“According to a senior State Department official who briefed reporters in Tokyo on his way to China, a smaller meeting was to be followed by dinner. Blinken may also meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and give a speech at a news conference before he leaves,” the website said.
It noted that Blinken is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit China in the past five years.
The main purpose of the secretary of state’s visit is to try to rebuild high-level channels of communication with Chinese counterparts, including between the U.S. and Chinese militaries, to deal with the intense competition between the two countries, the senior official said.
Earlier Saturday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he “hopes to meet with Xi again in the next few months.”
Ukrainian athletes have earned record 29 medals at the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing.
“The national team of Ukraine has put a golden end to its performance at the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing. On the final day of the competition, our athletes won the victory in cross-country skiing in the 4×2.5 km open relay,” the press service of the National Olympic Committee said.
In particular, Dmytro Suyarko (guide Oleksandr Nikonovych), Hryhoriy Vovchynsky, Vasyl Kravchuk and Anatoliy Kovalevsky (guide Oleksandr Mukshyn) brought Ukraine 11th gold and a total of 29th medal in Beijing 2022. “This is an absolute record for Ukraine at the Winter Paralympics,” the Committee stressed.
Thus, Ukraine takes the second place at the Paralympics with 11 gold, ten silver and eight bronze medals.
