China is not the country adding fuel to the fire with the Ukraine crisis and will remain committed to carrying out normal economic and trade cooperation with the rest of the world, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a routine press briefing in Beijing after it was announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to Russia at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin later this month.
Workers from China and Russia shake hands after the two ends of the Blagoveshchensk-Heihe highway bridge were joined together on May 31, 2019. (File photo: Xinhua)
"China has always carried out normal economic and trade cooperation with countries around the world, including Russia, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit," Wang said. "The cooperation between China and Russia is aboveboard and frank, with the aim of benefiting the people of the two countries and promoting the development of the world."
China-Russia ties would be free from interference and coercion by any third party, he said.
Asked if Beijing would aid Moscow militarily, Wang said that China has always taken a prudent and responsible attitude in terms of military exports and has always controlled the export of dual-use items in accordance with the law and regulations.
China stood firmly against unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdictions with no basis in international law and not authorized by the UN Security Council, he said.
"China's position and practices are consistent, which is in stark contrast to some countries' practice of double standards on arms sales and fueling the fire of the Ukraine crisis," Wang said.
