Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a UN Security Council high-level meeting on Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York on September 24, 2024. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had discussions on the Ukraine crisis, among other issues, with his counterparts from Russia and Ukraine when Wang met them separately on Wednesday. 

Chinese analysts said the positive response and appreciations from the two conflicting parties toward China's contribution just prove that accusations from a few countries over China's stance on the crisis are nonsense and laughable. 

China's exchanges and interactions with Russia and Ukraine at the UN have also exposed that some Western countries, especially the US, are not standing for peace, and don't care about the Ukrainian and Russian people who are suffering from the war; instead, they have selfish hegemonic interest in this issue, experts noted.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha separately on the sidelines of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Wang said at the meeting with Ukraine's top diplomat that China is willing to work with Ukraine to maintain the momentum of stable development in bilateral relations. Wang emphasized that China has always advocated for peaceful resolution of conflicts, and this remains true for the Ukraine issue.

China has been closely monitoring the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, and has provided four batches of humanitarian aid so far, and is ready to offer additional assistance based on Ukraine's needs, Wang said. China is also willing to maintain communication with all parties including Ukraine, in an effort to achieve peace at an early date, he noted.

At the meeting with Wang, Sybiha reiterated Ukraine's adherence to the one-China policy and expressed the willingness to build a strong partnership with China, adding that Ukraine highly values China's stance on the crisis and its efforts for peace, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

During his meeting with the Russian top diplomat, Wang said China will always stay true to the original aspiration of establishing diplomatic relations with Russia and continuously enrich their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era for the greater well-being of people of both countries.

Lavrov said at the meeting with Wang that Russia is willing to work with China to push for greater development of bilateral relations. The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Chinese analysts said China has always kept close communication with both sides since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, and is still making great mediation efforts to try to stop the conflict and restore peace. This has already proven that China's stance for peace is undoubtable, but a few countries, especially the US, have kept blaming, accusing and distorting China's stance on the Ukraine crisis when they are trying to add fuel to the flame. These few countries are also spending huge amounts of their' taxpayers' money to prolong the deadly war.

Wang said on Tuesday at the UN headquarters while attending a UN Security Council high-level meeting on the situation in Ukraine that "any attempt to blame, attack or smear China on the Ukraine issue is irresponsible and will not succeed."

Selfishness, incompetence exposed 

The US has frequently smeared and attacked China on the Ukraine issue. However, when Ukraine said it highly values China's stance on the crisis and its efforts for peace, the selfishness and hegemonic interest of Washington in the Ukraine crisis has completely been exposed. 

Zhang Hong, a research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that an effective and sustainable solution of Ukraine crisis should be based on reality and the respect to the reasonable concerns of both sides, but the one-sided support from the US-led West to Kiev has made the conflict to escalate. 

"The past two years have proved that the military support from the West to Ukraine has failed to promote peace but has extended and escalated the conflict time and again," Zhang noted. 

By preventing the war from ending, the US military-industrial complex can keep earning money from the massive military aid and Washington can keep its influence over the EU and maintain pressure on Russia, so when the US trashes China's stance, it's laughable and nonsense, said experts.

Nonetheless, the US attacks and smears China's stance in order to sow discord between China and the EU over the Ukraine crisis, Zhang said. "This kind of trick has just exposed the incompetence and selfishness of Washington in handling this crisis." 

Wang Yi on Wednesday also met with Josep Borrell, high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Wang expressed his appreciation for Borrell's commitment and effort as the EU's top diplomat on promoting mutual trust and cooperation between the two sides.

Borrell, for his part, said China's rise is an unstoppable historical trend. China is already a strong country and will continue to grow stronger. The world needs China and Europe should strengthen cooperation with China.

The world is not peaceful as challenges are growing and conflicts keep cropping up, and countries need to work together to maintain peace and security, said Borrell. The two sides also exchanged views on the crisis in Ukraine.

Cui Heng, a research fellow with the Center for Russian Studies of East China Normal University, said that the US' attempts to sow discord between China and EU members by smearing China's stance on the Ukraine crisis did affect some EU members, but major countries like Germany and France still maintain strategic autonomy, and that's why the EU clearly understands that it needs to work together with China. 

Be realistic 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday rejected the China-Brazil peace proposal during his speech as the UN General Assembly, while Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva advocated on Tuesday at the same event for a plan for talks between Russia and Ukraine to end their conflict, Reuters reported. 

Zhang said Zelenskiy has high expectation to the peace plan. Yet, to be realistic, Ukraine needs to understand that the higher expectation it has, the more difficult it will be for all parties to reach a feasible plan. The conflicting parties can at least stop the conflict first and solve other complicated issues by negotiations, but if the conflicting parties refuse to do so, the war will be maintained in long term.

Another reason is that Ukraine is unable to make decisions on its own, as the US is the real key player behind this war. So, before Washington believes that it's time for a talk with Moscow to stop this war in Ukraine, we might not be able to see Ukraine make a clear decision and accept any peace proposal. However, China and Brazil, as well as other members who are calling for peace among the international community, will keep on working toward stopping this endless war, said experts. 

Shen Sheng contributed to this story