Китайские транскрипты и Украина - июнь 2022
1 июня
On the Ukraine situation, China has been making use of every opportunity to call for a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities and for dialogue and peace talks through various channels and on different occasions. We call on the US and other Western countries to stop fanning the flame and imposing unilateral sanctions.
6 июня
The US forced countries to take sides in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and wantonly threatened to impose unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. Isn’t this “coercive diplomacy”?
Reality has shown that sanction is not the right solution to the Ukraine crisis. The massive, indiscriminate sanctions imposed by a few countries on Russia have not helped the situation deescalate at all.
China supports Russia and Ukraine in continuing to engage in negotiation and consultation to properly resolve relevant issues. We believe that all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis should be supported and that the international community should create favorable conditions for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
8 июня
We have noticed relevant reports and are concerned over the dangerous and irresponsible US behavior. The US needs to explain to the international community how these “hacking operations” are consistent with its professed position of not engaging directly in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The US and NATO have declared that cyber attacks can be viewed as armed assault. The US also said earlier that it could answer cyber attacks with conventional means or even nuclear strikes. If that logic is applied to all sides, the above-mentioned US operations could lead to an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and even risk triggering a nuclear attack.
It’s quite obvious that the US is conducting a dangerous experiment in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
They also have a lot to do with the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the unilateral sanctions slapped by the US and other Western countries on Russia in the wake of the conflict. Those sanctions aggravated the food and energy crises in developing countries and inflicted even more hardships on the people.
10 июня
China Review News: Foreign ministry spokespersons made comments on bio-military laboratories run by the US many times. The US has released a fact sheet which mentioned its WMD threat reduction efforts with Ukraine and other countries. Do you have any further comment? Do you think this is the US’ response to the questioning of the international community?
Zhao Lijian: I took note of the document released by the US Department of Defense. This fact sheet tells at length Ukraine’s compliance record but very little about how the US has done. It provided no answer to questions of biggest concern to the international community. For example, did the US conduct activities inconsistent with the Biological Weapons Convention through its cooperation with Ukraine? What exactly is the “sensitive” information that Ukraine is not allowed to make public according to the US-Ukraine cooperation agreement? How many biological samples did the US ship out of Ukraine according to bilateral agreement and for what purpose? Nothing is said about these questions in this fact sheet.
As I stressed time and again, the US conducts more bio-military activities than any other country in the world. Moreover, the US is the only country opposing the establishment of a verification mechanism for the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). The international community has long had concerns over this. Recently, Russia has further revealed the US’s bio-military activities in Ukraine, and raised clearly that the US has violated the BWC. According to the stipulations of the BWC, the US is under an obligation to provide clarifications on Russia’s allegation so as to restore the international community’s confidence in the US’s compliance.
We again urge the US to make full and detailed clarifications regarding not just Ukraine’s but the US’s own compliance, which is the responsible thing to do. The US also needs to stop single-handedly opposing the establishment of a verification mechanism for the BWC.
13 июня
Beijing Daily: It is reported that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the Shangri-La Dialogue via video link on June 11. When asked how Taiwan should respond if China seeks to take it, by force if necessary, Zelenskyy said that today’s example of Ukraine is an example for the whole world; no one benefits from war; if there is a way out diplomatically, we need to use the diplomatic way, but it must be a pre-emptive way, not the one that comes after the war has started. Do you have any comment?
Wang Wenbin: We have noted that President Zelenskyy didn’t mention the Taiwan question when answering the question. As some media pointed out, some people are simply raising the question about Taiwan in order to try to put words in President Zelenskyy’s mouth.
16 июня
Bloomberg: President Xi Jinping has held in-depth exchange of views with various leaders on the issue of Ukraine. But there hasn’t been a call between the leaders of China and Ukraine. Is there a comment from the foreign ministry on this?
Wang Wenbin: China values its relations with Ukraine and is ready to sustain the momentum for bilateral cooperation in various sectors. Currently, the two sides maintain open and smooth lines of communication. We will continue to play a constructive role in helping deescalate the Ukraine situation.
AFP: On the phone call between the Chinese and Russian heads of state yesterday, the US State Department spokesperson expressed concern about it and said nations that side with Vladimir Putin will “inevitably find themselves on the wrong side of history”. I wonder if you have any comment on this?
Wang Wenbin: On the Ukraine issue, China has always independently assessed the situation on the basis of the historical context and the merits of the issue. We always stand on the side of peace and justice. Whereas the US reneged on its word, pushed NATO expansion eastward and brought conflict and confrontation back to Europe, China is committed to dialogue and cooperation for common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and called for a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework. Whereas the US has clamored for a fight “to the last Ukrainian” and fueled the conflict, China has actively promoted peace talks and called on the world to enable negotiations, not fighting, to continue between Russia and Ukraine. Whereas the US has exercised maximum pressure and sanctions, causing the crisis to spill over and spread, China has firmly opposed attempts to politicize, instrumentalize and weaponize the world economy. China stressed that what has been achieved through international economic cooperation over the decades cannot be just wiped out, still less should the ordinary people around the world bear the cost. People will come to their own conclusion as to who is on the right side.
29 июня
As the one who started the Ukraine crisis and the biggest factor fueling it, the US needs to reflect on its disreputable role it has played in the Ukraine crisis and stop smearing China.
30 июня
Beijing Daily: According to reports, retired US military intelligence officer Scott Bennett said that the United Nations should organize an international tribunal for American biological weapons developers whose laboratories operated in Ukraine on the basis of the evidence collected by Russia. What’s China’s comment?
Zhao Lijian: I have noted relevant reports. We are seeing more and more people, including people in the US with inside information, raising questions about the US’s military biological activities around the globe. I have mentioned quite a few times the fact that the US conducts more such activities than any other country. It is also the only country that opposes the establishment of a verification mechanism under the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). There have long been serious international concerns about the US activities conducted all over the world.
Ensuring compliance through verification is an international consensus. Biosecurity should be no exception. As one of the BWC depository states, the US is supposed to lead by example. We once again urge the US to act responsibly and provide convincing clarifications on its military biological activities in Ukraine and other places sooner rather than later. And we urge the US not to seek to gloss over or cover up its activities. The best way for the US to prove its innocence is to open its doors for international review.