China opposes any act of inciting war: FM spokesperson

China opposes any act of inciting war and has taken a responsible attitude from the very beginning to persuade all parties not to escalate tensions and incite war, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Feb. 24.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to queries on the Ukraine issue, noting that the United States has sent at least 1.5 billion dollars' worth of over 1,000 tonnes of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.

"At that time, if all the parties had promoted peace talks, reviewed the historical context of the Ukraine issue, respected and accommodated each other's security concerns, and resolved the issue in a reasonable, proper way for a soft landing of the situation, what would be happening now?" Hua asked.

The culprit of the tensions should now consider how to put out the fire as soon as possible with concrete actions, instead of blaming others, she said.

In response to the U.S. State Department spokesperson's remarks on Ukraine, Hua said the United States is not qualified to tell China what to do on the issue of respecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"Even today, we are still facing the real threat from the United States and its so-called allies wantonly interfering in China's internal affairs and undermining China's sovereignty and security on Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan issues," she said.

That is why China always firmly upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and basic norms governing international relations, resolutely safeguarding its own sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, as well as international fairness and justice, she added.

The United States, in nearly 250 years since it was founded, has gone less than 20 years without foreign military operations, she said, adding that the excuses used for military interventions are sometimes democracy or human rights, sometimes simply a small bottle of laundry powder or a piece of fake news.

In response to the U.S. suggestion that Russia launched its operations thanks to China's backing, Hua said China's Russian friends would be very unhappy to hear that.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a major independent country, Russia has independently formulated and implemented its own diplomatic strategy based on its own judgment and national interests, she said.

Stressing that China-Russia relations are built on the basis of non-alliance, non-confrontation and the non-targeting of third countries, Hua said this is fundamentally different from the United States' actions in drawing ideological lines, forming cliques with bloc politics and creating confrontations and divisions.

As for the China-Russia joint statement, Hua suggested that the U.S. side should read it again scrupulously, adding that strengthening strategic communication and coordination between China and Russia and safeguarding the international system, with the UN playing a central coordinating role, demonstrates exactly the role of major responsible countries.