China opposes comparing the crisis in Ukraine and the Taiwan issue, as these problems are of a different nature, the embassy of the Asian country in Washington said, commenting on the statements of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the outcome of the Ukrainian conflict will affect China's attitude to the situation around Taiwan.
“The Taiwan issue and the Ukrainian issue are different in nature and completely incomparable“, the diplomatic mission said. “Taiwan is an integral part of China's territory, and the Taiwan issue is an exclusively internal matter of the PRC. We firmly oppose any interference by foreign forces in China's internal affairs or undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait“, the press service of the department said.
“Regarding the crisis in Ukraine, China supports all efforts to promote peace, as well as direct dialogue and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and a political settlement to the crisis“, the embassy noted. “We hope that through dialogue and negotiations, the parties will reach a fair and lasting peace agreement that will be binding and accepted by all parties concerned“, the diplomatic mission stressed.
During a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, Rubio, acting national security adviser to the US President, was also asked whether he thought Beijing's policy towards Moscow would be affected by the hypothetical imposition of tariffs on China for “buying cheap Russian oil“. “500% tariffs?“ “Yes, I think that would have an impact“, the secretary of state argued.
Commenting on his response, the Chinese embassy said that “China's normal cooperation with the international community within the framework of international law is reasonable and lawful, does not harm the interests of third parties, and should be respected and protected.“