RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 19 — Chinese President Xi Jinping urged G20 leaders yesterday to support efforts to deescalate the war in Ukraine and reach a “political solution,” state media reported.
His remarks at the G20 summit in Brazil come just days after Ukraine received a US green light to launch long-range missiles provided by Washington against targets inside Russia.
“The G20 should support the United Nations and its Security Council in playing a greater role, and support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises,” Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
He called for leaders to avoid “spillovers” from battlefields and escalation of wars, and to help “cool the Ukraine crisis and seek a political solution.”
War in Ukraine continues to rage since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
China presents itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.
But it remains a close political and economic ally of Russia, and Nato members have branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war, which it has never condemned.
Following the long-range missile policy shift by US President Joe Biden, who leaves office in January, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said yesterday his country was sending Ukraine 4,000 AI-guided drones while standing by a decision not to send long-range Taurus missiles.
Xi, in his speech yesterday, also called for efforts to shore up multilateral trade systems and warned against “politicizing economic issues.”
While he did not name any specific country, his comments come around two months before US President-elect Donald Trump reenters the White House after campaigning on pledges to enact sweeping tariffs on China and others.
“We must avoid politicizing economic issues, artificially dividing the global market, and avoid practicing protectionism in the name of green and low-carbon development,” he told the grouping of the world’s major economies.
Xi also called for “all sides to stop fighting” in Gaza, saying the war between Israel and Hamas has “brought heavy suffering,” CCTV reported. — AFP
