Do lot of work, then talk peace – China

Beijing – China said yesterday that “a lot of work” would need to be done before a planned peace conference on the Ukraine war in Switzerland could take place, after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Beijing had agreed to back the meeting.

“According to our understanding, the relevant meeting is still in preparation and there is still a lot of work to be done,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.

The Swiss government last week announced that it would host a high-level peace conference for Ukraine in mid-June, but said Russia would not attend.

And following talks between Scholz and President Xi Jinping in Beijing, the German chancellor said on Tuesday that the Chinese leader and he had agreed to “coordinate intensively and positively” on promoting that conference.

But China yesterday said Xi “supports the convening of an international peace conference in due course that is recognised by Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation by all parties”.

“China believes that any conflict must ultimately be resolved through diplomatic channels and political negotiations,” Lin added.

“The only way out of the Ukraine crisis is at the negotiation table,” he said.

China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict but it has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow’s offensive.

China and Russia have ramped up economic cooperation and diplomatic contacts in recent years.

Scholz on Tuesday also said that he had urged Xi to press ally Russia to end its “senseless” war in Ukraine during their talks.

“China’s word carries weight in Russia,” he said. –