China Urges World to Stop Saying Taiwan Is Next After Ukraine

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(Bloomberg) -- China urged the world to stop drawing parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan, part of Beijing’s efforts to distance itself from Russia and portray itself as a neutral force for peace.

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“China is deeply worried about the escalation of the Ukraine conflict and it possibly spiraling out of control,” Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday in remarks in Beijing to roll out President Xi Jinping’s new “Global Security Initiative.”

“We urge certain countries to immediately stop fueling the fire, stop shifting blame to China and stop touting ‘Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow,’” Qin added.

China in recent days has stepped up its efforts to draw a distinction between Ukraine and Taiwan, while rejecting US claims that it’s privately considering providing weapons to support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort. Beijing plans to unveil a peace proposal in the coming days, an initiative met with skepticism among the US and its allies.

Beijing has long considered the democratically run Taiwan as its territory, and has framed any support for the island’s leaders as a violation of sovereignty. The government in Taipei says that it is already a de facto nation in need of more recognition on the world stage.

China’s stance has generated concern in the US and Europe. Asked at the Munich Security Conference whether China could reassure that audience that there would be no attack on Taiwan, top diplomat Wang Yi said that peace would hinge on opposing independence forces on the island.

“It was never a country and it will absolutely not be a country as well,” Wang said of Taiwan. “That is the true reality of the Taiwan issue.”

The Global Security Initiative is China’s effort to paint itself as a responsible major power and to provide an alternative to the US’s model of military alliances.

Qin said that all countries are welcome to join the initiative and emphasized that no single country should be making decisions. A concept paper released by China’s state media Tuesday said the Asian nation supports countries involved to resolve the Ukraine crisis through talks.

Other key points in the document include:

  • Differences and disputes between countries should be resolved via dialogue and consultation instead of war and sanctions

  • Great powers should assume due responsibilities and facilitate negotiations based on needs and wishes of the countries involved

  • Abuse of unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction” will only create more difficulties

  • Great powers have special and important duty in maintaining international peace and security, and should take the lead in promoting equality, cooperation and rule of law

  • China resolutely rejects nuclear war and calls on nuclear powers to communicate and cooperate

--With assistance from Colum Murphy.

(Updated with details on sanctions and key points from the document)

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