China demands US stop ‘smearing’ campaign over Ukraine conflict

Beijing maintains an “above board” position on the crisis, its foreign minister has said, urging Washington to drop “indiscriminate” sanctions

Washington should stop “smearing” China, especially when it comes to Beijing’s stance on the Ukraine conflict, Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told US counterpart Antony Blinken.

The two top diplomats met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss tensions in bilateral relations and international issues. Hostilities between Moscow and Kiev loomed large on the agenda, as Blinken rebuked China for what he claimed was the fueling of Russia’s “war machine.”

The US Secretary of State charged that while Beijing says it wants peace, it is “allowing its companies to take actions that are actually helping [Russian President Vladimir] Putin continue the aggression, that doesn't add up.”

Wang Yi fired back, saying, as quoted by China’s Foreign Ministry, that “the United States should stop smearing and framing China, imposing sanctions indiscriminately, and stop using this as an excuse to create confrontation and incite confrontation between camps.”

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China vows to keep ‘paving way’ for Ukraine peace talks

Beijing, he added, maintains an “open and above board” position on the Ukraine conflict, and “has always insisted on promoting peace and dialogue, and has made its own efforts to promote a political solution.”

Wang also noted that China opposes what he called “the US suppression of China's economy, trade and technology,” adding that “national security cannot be politicized, and the ‘small courtyard and high walls’ cannot become the ‘big courtyard iron curtain’.”

Last month, the US released a new sanctions list targeting almost 400 companies and individuals, including those from China, UAE, and Türkiye, over what Washington says is their support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict. At the time, the State Department voiced particular concern about “the magnitude of dual-use goods exports” from China to Russia which it claimed helped Moscow address “critical gaps in Russia’s defense production cycle.”

Following the start of the Ukraine conflict, China refused to join Western sanctions against Russia, and trade between the two has since steadily increased. Beijing has also positioned itself as a neutral party in the crisis, repeatedly calling for peace talks.

Commenting on ties with Beijing, Putin has rejected the idea that Russia is becoming too dependent on China economically, insisting that the EU economy is much more vulnerable in that regard.