China on Thursday said that it stands with all the countries to uphold their territorial security vis-a-vis Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made these remarks when asked why President Xi Jinping hasn’t spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky post Russia’s invasion of the eastern European country.
“China supports all parties to uphold the concept of indivisibility of security,” Wang said.
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President Xi has spoken to eight world leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine in the last week of February but is yet to speak to President Zelensky.
The US warned China last week that it will bear responsibility should it attempt to support Russia militarily.
The US has also pushed China to use its influence on President Putin to stop the invasion of Ukraine and promote international rules and principles.
The sanctions on Russia have impacted the economies across the world as oil prices have significantly shot up over USD 100 per barrel the impact of which will be felt in terms of inflation and low economic growth.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in its latest report titled “Tapering in a Time of Conflict”, downgraded China’s projected growth from 5.7 percent to 4.8 percent for the year 2022.
In response to the invasion, the US and its NATO allies have heavily sanctioned Russia, virtually cutting it off from international trade and financial exchange.
The West has put up a united front against Russia for invading Ukraine. The G7 countries (a political alliance consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) had earlier announced a new set of economic sanctions on Russia as Moscow was stripped of the “most-favoured nation” (MFN) trade status.
This ban on goods includes the iron and steel sector as well as high-end luxury goods such as watches, vehicles, clothes, alcohol and jewelry.
The US went as far as banning energy imports from Russia.
Prior to sanctions, Russia produced 10 million barrels of oil per day. It supplies 10 percent of the world's energy which includes 17 percent of natural gas and 12 percent of petrol/diesel.
