Top Chinese diplomat Wang I at the Munich Security Conference, February 18, 2023.
Munich (Germany) – China wants a safer world, but after the covid-19 pandemic has been managed, mistrust is growing between the powers and at the same time new threats are coming, such as energy and food crises. Leading Chinese diplomat Wang I said this today at the Munich Security Conference. Not long after, US Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Beijing at the conference, according to which it is worrying that China has deepened its relations with Russia since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, made a similar statement, according to which Beijing is not neutral in the conflict in Ukraine.
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“Mankind has been fighting covid for three years, but the world is not safer. Mistrust is growing between major nations,” Wang said. “New kinds of threats are emerging, such as energy and food crises,” he said. According to Wang, mutual respect, trust and cooperation are needed to make the world safer.
Wang has repeatedly stressed that China is always on the side of peace and that it supports peace talks and dialogue in the war in Ukraine. He also criticized “certain forces” who, according to him, do not want an early end to the war.
Harris, on the other hand, expressed her belief that any moves to support Russia, with whom she says China has deepened ties, would only reward aggression and encourage other authoritarian regimes to follow suit. With this term, the administration of US President Joe Biden often refers to China, where some politicians fear that it might try to take control of Taiwan by force, which – as Wang also emphasized today – Beijing considers to be part of it.
< p>The former Chinese foreign minister also said that China intends to present its own proposal for settling the conflict in Ukraine, but did not provide details. He also emphasized that the sanctions policy often has the opposite of the intended effects and that dialogue should be prioritized.
In Munich, Wang also mentioned the topic of the Chinese balloon, which the US shot down to the displeasure of Beijing, because it considered it to be espionage. According to Wang, the balloon that flew over sensitive military facilities in US airspace was civilian equipment that had gone off course. “The United States reacted absolutely hysterically,” said a senior Chinese diplomat about the downing of the object.
On Friday, on the sidelines of the conference, Wang I met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, to whom, according to the New China Agency, he told him that Beijing wanted to deliver new impetus to relations with Berlin and at the same time wants to improve mutual understanding. Wang also held talks with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday.
