China warns US against "finger-pointing" Moscow-Beijing ties

Beijing [China], February 20 (ANI): Warning the US against "finger-pointing" Moscow-Beijing ties, China on Monday said it would not accept any "coercion."
At a regular press conference, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, "China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is built on the basis of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third countries, and is within the sovereign rights of two independent countries. We never accept the US's finger-pointing or even coercion targeting China-Russia relations."
He also stressed that on the Ukraine issue, China stands by its principles, saying "China is committed to promoting peace talks and has played a constructive role."
Notably, at the request of the US, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi had an informal contact with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the margins of the Munich Security Conference.
At the Conference China's top diplomat, Wang Yi set forth China's strong position on the so-called "balloon incident" and pointed out that what the US side has done was apparently an abuse of force and violation of customary international practice and the International Civil Aviation Covenant.
"China deplores it and strongly protests it. The US itself is the number one country in conducting surveillance worldwide, whose high-altitude balloons have illegally flown over China multiple times. The US is in no position to smear China. The US needs to demonstrate sincerity and acknowledge and resolve the damage its abuse of force has done to China-US relations. If the US side continues to fuss over, dramatize and escalate the unintended and isolated incident, it should not expect the Chinese side to flinch. The US side should be prepared to bear all consequences arising from an escalation" said Wang Wenbin.
Answering Whether China is considering supplying Russia with weapons and ammunition for the invasion of Ukraine, he said, "It is the US, not China, that has been pouring weapons into the battlefield. The US is in no position to tell China what to do."
Wang Yi pointed out that to preserve stability across the Taiwan Strait, one must firmly oppose "Taiwan independence" and uphold the one-China principle.
"On the Taiwan question, the US side should respect historical facts, honour its political commitments and follow through on its statement of "not supporting Taiwan independence," he added.
Wang also commented on North Korea firing two more ballistic missiles off its east coast recently.
"China is following the development of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. We have noted the announcement by the DPRK and several military drills and closer military cooperation undertaken recently by relevant parties in the region. The crux and history of the Korean Peninsula issues are clear. We hope that relevant parties will adhere to the direction of political settlement and resolve the concerns of each party in a balanced way through meaningful dialogue. China's position on the issues concerning the Korean Peninsula has not changed. We will continue to follow the dual-track approach and the principle of phased and synchronized steps, and play a constructive role in promoting their political settlement," said Wang Wenbin.
Talking about the IMF considering approving a loan to Sri Lanka and whether China would assure the IMF that it would help restructure the debt for Lanka as a part of any IMF loans to the island nation, Wang said, "The Export-Import Bank of China has already provided Sri Lanka with a letter to express support for its debt sustainability. The letter says that the Bank is going to provide an extension on the debt service due in 2022 and 2023, which means Sri Lanka will not have to repay the principal and interest due on the Bank's loans during the above-mentioned period, so as to help relieve Sri Lanka's short-term debt repayment pressure." (ANI)