China blames US for catalysing conflict in Ukraine: 'Stop playing world police'

China on Tuesday accused the US of fuelling the brutal Russia-Ukraine conflict that devasted Eastern Europe in less than five months. Speaking at a press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian claimed that Washington created conditions for the brutal war and it must stop playing "world police" and instead, pave way for a peaceful resolution. In response to US State Department spokesperson Ned Price's warnings of "paying steep cost" if Beijing helped Russia evade West-imposed sanctions, Lijian retorted: "He sounded as if the US were the World Police."

"One who started the Ukraine crisis and the biggest factor fueling it, the US needs to deeply reflect on erroneous actions of exerting extreme pressure and fanning the flame on the Ukraine issue," Lijian said, according to a statement by the Chinese MFA.

The Chinese MFA spokesperson also rebuked the US for "unwarranted suspicion threat, and pressure" targetting Beijing. Lijian further stated that China also "firmly opposed" the unilateral illegal sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction with no bases in international law." Notably, this is the first time China has publicly deplored Washington and blamed it for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In many previous instances, Lijian's colleague Wang Wenbin chided the US only stopping short of directly alleging that Washington ignited the war.

US creating Cold War, taking advantage of Ukraine war: Lijian

Offended at Price's warnings, despite repeatedly denying claims of not helping Russia, Lijian on Tuesday asserted that "the US is master of playing a bloc confrontation and creating a new cold war by taking advantage of the situation." He added that Washington instead must create an environment for "proper settlement" of the differences in a responsible way. The Chinese MFA spokesperson further rebuffed US accusations over contribution to the global food crisis by supporting Russia, calling it Washington's "smearing campaign."

China 'not a party to Ukraine crisis': Yi

Ever since the beginning of the war on February 24, China has maintained a neutral stance on the issue, only countering US' accusations. Speaking to Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjrto on Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated reiterated that "Beijing is not a party to the Ukraine crisis...and has not stood by, nor fuelled the fire. Instead, always unswervingly and perseveringly promoted peace talks." Throwing direct jibe at the US, he added, "all parties must seriously learn from the hard lessons of the crisis." Yi stressed the "negative spillover effect" emerging from the conflict that spread worldwide, especially affecting the vulnerable African nations.

According to expert reports, China has been extremely cautious in openly supporting Russia in the Ukraine war. While its public pronouncements have remained peace-centric, reports statistical reports last month pointed out that Beijing increased its imports from Russia in the months of the war, most likely to help Moscow evade the financial crunch from Western sanctions. In addition, Chinese officials have often touted a "rock solid" partnership with the Kremlin. Although talking about if China's imports are contributing to backfilling Western penalties, the answer, as explained by RussiaMatters.org is "no", since Beijing has not supplied military equipment or large-scale supplies to reverse the effect of the sanctions.

(Image: AP)