Rio de Janeiro:
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on G20 leaders to support efforts to de-escalate the war in Ukraine and reach a “political solution,” state media reported.
His comments at the G20 summit in Brazil come shortly after Ukraine received the green light from the US to launch Washington-supplied long-range missiles against targets in Russia.
“The G20 should support the United Nations and its Security Council in playing a greater role, and support all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of crises,” Xi said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
He called on leaders to avoid “spillover” from battlefields and escalation of fighting, and help “cool the crisis in Ukraine and seek a political solution.”
The war in Ukraine has continued to rage since the Russian invasion in 2022.
China presents itself as a neutral party in the war and says it is not sending lethal aid to either side, unlike the United States and other Western countries.
But it remains a close political and economic ally of Russia. NATO members have branded Beijing as a “decisive factor” in the war, which the country has never condemned.
Following the policy change on long-range missiles by US President Joe Biden, who leaves office in January, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday his country would send Ukraine 4,000 AI-guided drones.
Xi also called for efforts to strengthen multilateral trading systems in his speech on Monday and warned against “politicizing economic issues” without naming specific countries.
His comments come before US President-elect Donald Trump reenters the White House in January after campaigning on promises to impose sweeping tariffs on China and others.
Washington also unveiled sharp tariff increases on Chinese goods this year, particularly on products such as electric vehicle batteries and solar cells, as the United States tries to grow its domestic clean energy sectors.
“We should avoid politicizing economic issues, artificially dividing the global market, and avoiding protectionism in the name of green and low-carbon development,” Xi said.
In seeking cooperation in artificial intelligence, he added that this should not become a “game between rich countries and the rich.”
Xi also called on “all sides to stop fighting” in Gaza, saying the war between Israel and Hamas has “caused severe suffering,” CCTV reported.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)