China warns at United Nations of “battlefield expansion” in Ukraine war

NEW YORK – Three days before its communist government turns 75, China’s foreign minister on Saturday warned fellow leaders against an “expansion of the battlefield” in the war between Russia and Ukraine, saying the government in Beijing remained committed to shuttle diplomacy and efforts to end the conflict to drift towards its end.

“The top priority is to commit to no expansion of the battlefield. … China is determined to play a constructive role,” Wang Yi said. He warned that other nations were “adding fuel to the fire or exploiting the situation for selfish purposes,” likely referring to the United States.

Wang’s speech did not appear to break new ground, as is generally the case with China’s recent practice at the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting of heads of state and government. In fact, his boss, Chinese President Xi Jinping, has not attended the meeting of heads of state and government since 2021 – and even then only virtually, during the pandemic. Xi was not present in person for several years.

On Friday, China and Brazil tried to drum up enthusiasm for their peace plan for Ukraine on the sidelines of the meeting. They said about a dozen countries had signed a communiqué saying they “take note” of the six-point plan. The plan includes, among other things, a peace conference with Ukraine and Russia and no expansion of the battlefield.

Ukrainian officials have given the proposal a cold shoulder, but the countries that signed the communique are forming a group of “Friends for Peace” for their UN ambassadors to keep the conversation going among themselves. From Algeria to Zambia, members are largely African or Latin American countries. Wang ensured on Friday that the group does not dictate the policies of individual countries.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference on Saturday that Russia was ready to provide help and advice to the group, adding: “It is important that their proposals are based on reality and not just come from some abstract conversations.”

China was an ally of Russia, a nation accused of violating the UN Charter by Secretary-General António Guterres, the United States and many nations around the world. Moscow insists that its so-called “special military operation” is in self-defense, which is permitted by the UN charter.

China’s continued and vehement insistence on respecting the sovereignty of other nations is not only a cornerstone of its foreign policy, but also a fundamental ethos for governing a nation that has traditionally struggled to maintain control on its fringes – from Xinjiang and Tibet to the farthest West to Hong Kong and Taiwan off the east coast.

China’s current government was founded on October 1, 1949, when it was proclaimed by communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square following a civil war with the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek. The Nationalists began ruling Taiwan as a self-governing island, and the practice continues to this day – and is something China rejects, insisting it is only a temporary situation for territories it considers sovereign.

“There are no two Chinas or one China – one Taiwan. “There is no gray area in this matter,” Wang said. “Taiwan will eventually return to the embrace of the motherland.” This is the overwhelming trend of history that no one can stop.”

The Republic of China – the government in Taiwan founded by Chiang Kai-shek – was a member of the United Nations until 1971, when the UN recognized the Beijing government. Since then, Beijing has worked to isolate Taiwan by rewarding countries that recognize it diplomatically and sometimes punishing those that do not. At every high-level meeting of the General Assembly, the leaders of scattered Taiwan-supporting nations – mostly small – complain from the lectern that the island’s government is shunned by the international community.

Wang also commented on China’s position on rising tensions in the Middle East and the situation on the Korean Peninsula. The latter has always been a key strategic priority for Beijing.

THE MIDDLE EAST: Wang said that “the Palestinian issue is the biggest wound on the human conscience” and reiterated that China supports Palestinian statehood and full membership in the United Nations, stressing that a two-state solution is “the fundamental one “way out”. He did not mention Israel by name or directly reference the war that began when Hamas militants poured into Israel across the Gaza Strip border, killing hundreds and taking dozens hostage.

THE KOREAN PENINSULA: As is China’s policy, Wang expressed support for a transition “from a ceasefire to a peace mechanism.” The two Koreas are still technically at war, as a conflict in 1950-1953 divided the peninsula into a north and a south. China is a long-time supporter of North Korea, while the United States is a close ally of the South. He veiledly warned that others would try to pull the strings in East Asia: “We are firmly opposed to interference from countries outside the region.”

After liberation from Japan’s 35-year colonial rule at the end of World War II in 1945, the Korean peninsula split into U.S.-backed, capitalist South Korea and Soviet-backed, socialist North Korea. The two Koreas have the most heavily fortified border in the world.

HUMAN RIGHTS: Reiterating China’s usual arguments, Wang said that “no country should violate the internal affairs of another in the name of human rights” and stressed that China has chosen its own path, which is as legitimate as that of others.

“We have found a path to human rights development that is in line with China’s national situation,” Wang said.

Other nations and international human rights groups have long condemned Beijing’s treatment of Tibetans, ethnic Uyghurs in the far western region of Xinjiang and, more recently, activists in the “special administrative region” of Hong Kong.

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Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz and Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report. For more of AP’s coverage of the U.N. General Assembly, visit https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations