Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 22, 2023.(Photo: Xinhua)

The nature of the latest visit of China's top diplomat Wang Yi to Russia and that of the surprise trip of US President Joe Biden to Ukraine is completely different in nature, although the timing coincided, Chinese envoy to the EU Fu Cong told the Global Times in an exclusive interview.

Remarks such as "striking down Russia and turning it into a second-rate country" or "seeking regime change in Russia" are extremely dangerous, as they escalate the conflict and signal that the possibility of peaceful talks is ruled out, Fu warned. 

Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, visited Russia from Tuesday to Wednesday. On the other hand, Biden made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Monday.

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, senior officials from China and the US visited Russia and Ukraine respectively, attracting the world's attention. 

"The nature of the two visits is completely different. Biden suddenly showed up in Kiev, but Wang's planned visit to Russia was announced earlier. These two visits should not be brought up together in terms of timing," Fu told the Global Times. 

China and the US also take very different positions, as Biden's visit to Ukraine, focused on the Ukraine crisis, aimed to support the continuation of the conflict, but Wang's visit to Russia not only focused on the Ukraine issue but also on other aspects of China-Russia relations, he said. 

"When talking about the Ukraine issue, we always take a more fair and reasonable position. We will not take sides but only promote peace," the Chinese envoy said.

Days ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine conflict, some media reported that Russia has launched a new counteroffensive while Ukraine has been stocking up bombshells, waiting for tanks and artillery supplied by the West to launch a counterattack.

Fu said during the interview that he is pessimistic about the prospect that parties concerned would launch peaceful talks in a short period of time, as it seems that all parties have no desire for talks now. "But I believe that after a period of twists and turns, they will eventually come to the table for negotiation," he said. 

Instead of waiting until a large number of soldiers die in battle to realize that the war cannot be won, it is better to sit down and talk now, Fu told the Global Times. The US is the biggest obstacle in ending the conflict and it's also the biggest beneficiary of the war. 

If the US-led West set the goal of defeating Russia, it would be a very cruel and protracted war that will bring great risks to the world. In particular, claims such as "Russia will be beaten back into a 'second-rate country'" and "seeking regime change in Russia" are even more dangerous and rule out the possibility of peace talks, which can only cause continuous escalation of war and greater damage, Fu warned.