Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi makes a speech at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 15, 2020.(Xinhua/Lu Yang)

 
China always stands on the side of peace and dialogue and is committed to promoting peace talks on the Ukraine issue, China's top diplomat Wang Yi said in a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) on Saturday.

China is committed to promoting peace talks and would not like to see the Ukraine crisis to be protracted or escalated, said Wang, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, according to a statement on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Sunday. 

On the Ukraine crisis, Wang stressed that China always stands on the side of peace and dialogue and is committed to promoting peace talks. China would not like to see the Ukraine crisis to be protracted or escalated and Beijing is ready to work with the international community to avoid further deterioration of the situation and work tirelessly for peace.

Kuleba said Ukraine and China have maintained communications over the past year. He said no country hopes to realize peace as soon as possible more than Ukraine. Ukraine attaches importance to China's international status and important influence as well as China's position on the political settlement of the crisis. Ukraine expects China to continue to play a constructive role, Kuleba said.

China's interaction with the top Ukraine official is part of China's efforts to push for peace talks, Zhang Hong, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. 

"Their contact negates the misconception among some European countries and the US that China only has contact with the Russian side. China does not choose either side between Moscow and Kiev, but stands in a position that wishes to minimize casualties," Zhang said.

China pursues a political settlement of disputes through dialogue, rather than through military options for dealing with the issue or escalating the conflict, Zhang added.  

Just as Wang said at the MSC when answering a question concerning China's stance on the Ukraine crisis, China is not a directly involved party, did not choose to be a bystander or add fuel to the fire, still less exploit the crisis. 

Noting that the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine crisis is days away, Wang announced that China will publish a document on its stance of finding a political settlement to the crisis.

China as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and major country in the international community, will not be absent from major international hot issues and will contribute its solution for the crisis as part of its efforts in global governance, Zhang noted.

In meeting with Kuleba, Wang also said China and Ukraine are strategic partners and the peoples of the two countries enjoy long-term friendship. Wang thanks Ukraine again for assisting China with its emergency evacuation of overseas Chinese. 

China appreciates Ukraine's adherence to the one-China principle and wishes that bilateral ties will continue to have stable development, Wang noted.