New Delhi: Amidst the rising tension between Ukraine and Russia, the Chinese President Xi Jinping in a video call with US President Joe Biden on Friday said that conflicts between states are ‘in no-one’s interest,’ news agency AFP reported.
He said that China and US should ‘shoulder international responsibilities’ for peace, and further declared that “peace and security are the most valued treasures of the international community.”
It was unclear if Xi directly criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offensive against Ukraine or signalled a willingness to support the US-led pressure campaign on the Kremlin.
In their first phone chat since November, Biden sought to persuade Xi to abandon any notion of bailing out Russia.
China should “understand that their future is with the United States, with Europe, with other developed and developing countries around the world. Their future is not to stand with Vladimir Putin,” Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told CNN earlier Friday, AFP reported.
The video conference was arranged as the White House seeks to discourage Beijing from offering military or economic support to Russia.
Biden will challenge Xi about Beijing’s “rhetorical backing” for Putin and the “lack of denunciation” of Russia’s ruthless invasion of Ukraine, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, news agency Associated Press (AP) reported.
“This is an opportunity to assess where President Xi stands,” Psaki was quoted by AP in its report.
The discussion has been in the works since Biden and Xi conducted a virtual summit in November, but the call is anticipated to concentrate on tensions between Washington and Beijing over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s handling of his three-week-old conflict against Ukraine.
At 9:03 a.m. EDT, the two leaders began a secure video conference.
China emphasised its appeals for diplomacy and humanitarian relief on Friday, accusing the United States of aggravating Russia and stoking the war by delivering armaments to Ukraine.
Addressing reporters at a daily briefing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, “China has called for every effort to avoid civilian casualties all the time. Which do the civilians in Ukraine need more: food and sleeping bags or machine guns and artillery? It’s easy to answer.”
The US notified Asian and European partners earlier this week that American intelligence had assessed that China had signalled to Russia that it would be prepared to give both military and financial assistance to help Russia avoid the effect of harsh sanctions imposed by the West.
(With inputs from Associated Press & AFP)