Writing in the Washington Post (March 15), China's Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang denied
statements that China was briefed on Putin's plans for invading Ukraine. He said “ Assertions
that China knew about, acquiesced to, or tacitly supported this war are purely disinformation.
All these claims serve only the purpose of shifting blame to and slinging mud at China. There
were more than 6,000 Chinese citizens in Ukraine. China is the biggest trading partner of both
Russia and Ukraine, and the largest importer of crude oil and natural gas in the world. Conflict
between Russia and Ukraine does no good for China. Had China known about the imminent
crisis, we would have tried our best to prevent it. China is committed to an independent foreign
policy of peace." He also sought to differentiate between the cases of Ukraine and Taiwan
saying: "Ukraine is a sovereign state, while Taiwan is an inseparable part of China’s territory.
The Taiwan question is a Chinese internal affair. It does not make sense for people to
emphasize the principle of sovereignty on Ukraine while hurting China’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity on Taiwan. The future of Taiwan lies in peaceful development of crossStrait relations and the reunification of China. We are committed to peaceful reunification, but
we also retain all options to curb “Taiwan independence.”
(Comment: Chinese statements on the subject are contradictory and suggest an attempt at
obfuscation.)
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