BEIJING, April 26. /TASS/. The Chinese authorities are not seeking World War III and are in favor of resolving the conflict in Ukraine through diplomacy, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday.

"No one wants to see World War III, <...> it is necessary to support the process of promoting peace talks [between Russia and Ukraine]," he said at a briefing, responding to a Western journalist's question about how the Chinese foreign ministry assesses Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's recent words about the threat of World War III.

According to Wang Wenbin, the armed conflict in Ukraine should not be allowed to become protracted. He pointed to the need to prevent negative consequences that could result in the Ukrainian conflict affecting not only Europe but the entire world.

"We hope that all parties concerned will show equanimity and prevent escalation," the Foreign Ministry spokesman concluded.