Ukraine peace summit: China denies pressuring others not to attend

China flatly denied it tried to stop other countries from attending a Swiss-led Ukraine peace summit this month, describing its position as "fair and impartial".

Asked on Monday about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's claim that Beijing tried to prevent other countries from attending the gathering, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning rejected the suggestion.

"China's diplomatic approach does not involve hegemony or coercion," Mao said.

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"So I want to emphasise that China's position is open and transparent, and it is absolutely not putting pressure on other countries."

Mao was responding to comments Zelensky made on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore on Sunday.

While discussing Beijing's potential role in resolving the war in Ukraine, Zelensky accused China of pressuring other countries to boycott the summit.

He expressed concerns that China's support for Russia would likely prolong the war, and that would have negative consequences for the world.

"Russia, using Chinese influence in the region, using Chinese diplomats also, does everything to disrupt the peace summit," he said.

"Regrettably, this is unfortunate that such a big independent powerful country as China is an instrument in the hands of [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin."

Zelensky also warned that China's actions would contradict its own claims of upholding sovereignty and territorial integrity.

But Mao said that from the start, China had placed great importance on Switzerland hosting the summit and had maintained close communication with all relevant parties, including Switzerland and Ukraine.

She added that China's embassy in Ukraine had remained fully operational and China had continued to maintain communication and cooperation with Ukraine throughout the crisis.

Zelensky also used his appearance at the defence forum to call on Asian countries to join the gathering in Switzerland on June 15, saying his success in Singapore would be measured by "presence of representatives from Asia" at the summit.

He said that more than 100 countries and international organisations had already confirmed their attendance.

The meeting will focus on key issues such as nuclear security, food security, and the release of prisoners of war, and is designed to build on Zelensky's 10-point peace plan, which seeks to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity and for Russian troops to withdraw.

Earlier, the Swiss foreign ministry emphasised the importance of Russia's involvement in the peace process, and said it was working to bring Moscow into the fold.

Mao said on Friday that Beijing would not send representatives as "arrangements for the meeting still fall far short of China's requests and the general expectations of the international community".

She repeated China's insistence on three elements for peace talks.

"China has always insisted that an international peace conference should be endorsed by both Russia and Ukraine, with the equal participation of all parties, and that all peace proposals should be discussed in a fair and equal manner. Otherwise it will be difficult for it to play a substantive role in restoring peace," Mao said.

Before Zelensky's speech on Sunday, Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun emphasised China's desire to remain neutral in the conflict, adding that it "never provided weapons to either party of the conflict".

China has maintained that it is taking a neutral position on the war and has denied direct military involvement in the conflict, saying it has not provided any military aid to either Russia or Ukraine.

However, China's trade with Russia has boomed, helping to cushion Russia from the economic fallout of Western sanctions. Despite the widespread international condemnation of Russia's actions in Ukraine, China has not explicitly condemned Russia's invasion.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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