BEIJING, April 2. /TASS/. The Ukrainian crisis should not affect China’s trade relations with other states, including Russia, the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Department of European Affairs, Wang Lutong, said during a special briefing on Saturday.
"China is not a party to the Ukrainian conflict. And we do not think that it should affect our normal trade with any other country," he said. "Even Europe is engaged in normal business relations with Russia, you did not cease your trade with Russia. Therefore, our normal trade cooperation with Russia should not be affected."
Wang Lutong went on to say that China takes no deliberate measures to bypass the sanctions, imposed on Russia by the United States and Europe.
"You are aware of our stance regarding sanctions. We oppose sanctions," he said, adding that the consequences of unilateral restrictions may eventually spread worldwide, affecting supply chains, globalization process and even the post-WWII economic order in general.
The EU-China summit was held in the format of a video conference on Friday. It was attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier of the Chinese State Council Li Keqiang, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an early morning televised address that he had launched a special military operation in Ukraine in response to a request for help from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no intention of occupying Ukrainian territories, the sole purpose of the operation, the leader stressed, is the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.
The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and some other countries responded by imposing sanctions on Russian individuals and companies.