Russia's absence from the Ukraine peace conference renders China's involvement challenging.
The conference should involve "equal contribution from all parties and open debate of all peace proposals," as she explained. Otherwise, the conference might struggle to make a significant difference in bringing about peace.
Russia was not extended an invitation to the meeting scheduled for June 15th and 16th in Lucerne. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had invited both China and US President Joe Biden.
Moscow supports China's standpoint. "From the beginning, China has highlighted the futility of such events without Russian involvement," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. Conducting peace talks without Russia is "unreasonable, senseless, and a waste of time."
China views itself as neutral in the Ukraine conflict. Nevertheless, China has faced criticism from Western nations like the US for not condemning Russia's aggression. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been in China since the onset of the war.
China's Defence Minister Dong Jun confirmed their impartial position towards the Ukraine war on the fringes of the Shangri-La Security Conference. As reported by Wu Qian, Dong's spokesperson, China "remains committed to its pledge not to provide weapons to either side of the conflict," said Wu.
"China will keep pushing for peace talks and play a constructive role, but we categorically reject the claim that the US is implicating China in this," he added. The West has accused China of giving Russia access to technology that can be used for producing weapons.
The conference in Switzerland takes place before the G7 summit in nearby Italy. Hence, there's optimism that many heads of state and government, such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), will engage in the dialogues in Switzerland. The G7 includes Germany, the US, France, Italy, Britain, Canada, and Japan.
