China's ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, has promised that his country will "do everything" to de-escalate the war in Ukraine, and stressed that its relations with Russia "are not part of the problem." The diplomat made the relevant comment after the statement of the President of the United States Joe Biden that China will face serious consequences if Beijing supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reports.
"There is misinformation that China is providing military assistance to Russia," Qin told CBS's "Face the Nation" program on Sunday. China does not send "weapons and ammunition to any party," he said. "We will do everything we can to prevent a crisis."
Although China has many common interests with Russia, it is not responsible for Russia's actions, Qin said. "China is part of the solution, not part of the problem," the ambassador added.
Asked whether China would condemn the Russian invasion, Qin said: "Don't be naive. Condemnation does not solve the problem. I would be surprised if Russia retreated because of condemnation." Instead, he said, China will continue to call for peace talks.
The conversation between Xi and Biden was "open, deep and constructive," Qin said. Earlier, US Permanent Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield described the call as extremely frank.
Earlier, the Financial Times reported that Russia had asked China for military assistance to continue the invasion of Ukraine. The FT also claims that the United States has informed its allies in Europe and Asia that China has "shown readiness" to provide military support to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. This information was later confirmed by US officials, who added that Washington would try to persuade Beijing not to interfere on Russia's side.