China opposes the U.S. sanctions against Russia and will always take an objective and independent position on the Ukraine issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday.
"We oppose sanctions and our position is quite clear," he stressed at the briefing, Tass reports.
He noted that "the United States has recently made numerous provocative statements regarding China on this issue, and in this regard, he said that they will "firmly defend the interests of Chinese people and companies."
According to the Chinese diplomat, Washington is actively using all available levers to pressure the international community to strengthen sanctions against Russia. “These are blatant hegemonic threats, indicating that the US government is guided by Cold War thinking,” he added.
He insisted that China has always maintained “an objective and independent position” on the Ukraine issue and “maintains its own judgment.” The diplomat recalled that Beijing sought to reduce the escalation in Ukraine by promoting constructive negotiations between Moscow and kyiv.
“Any attempt to distort China’s efforts in this direction, as well as to spread false information to smear China, shows irresponsibility, it is also immoral,” he said. “Once again, sanctions have never been an effective way to solve problems.”
Russia began a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, after the authorities of the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (PRL) requested help to repel the increase in aggression from kyiv.
Previously, Moscow recognized the independence and sovereignty of both territories and signed treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with their leaders, which included the establishment of diplomatic relations and military aid.
The objective of the operation is to protect the population of Donbass from the abuses and genocide of Kyiv during the last eight years, in addition to “demilitarizing” and “denazifying” Ukraine.
