Stop smearing China and support peace

Former US president Donald Trump has come up with a weird suggestion. According to the Washington Post, Trump told the Republican Party's top donors on Saturday that the US could fix Chinese flags to its F-22s and bomb Russia. "And then we say, China did it, we didn't do it, China did it, and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch," the Post quoted him as saying.

While this was no doubt said with tongue in cheek, the White House and its "friends" are in a way doing no better.

The New York Times recently quoted some US official as saying that China asked Russia to delay the Ukraine war until after the Winter Olympics, thus implying that China had knowledge about the Ukraine crisis before it started.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said at a recent news conference that an "anonymous US senior official" even criticized China for not blaming Russia or slapping sanctions against it.

Other rumors have been floating around on English-language social networking sites, saying that Chinese men are seeking female Ukrainian refugees; or that the Chinese ambassador to Ukraine had left his citizens behind in Kyiv, all of which were later found to be untrue.

All these lies are fabricated by those siding with or supported by the US. So, 15 days after the military conflict in Ukraine started, instead of trying to build bridges, certain Western political forces are using the opportunity to smear China. But it is they who triggered the crisis.

China's stand on the issue has been clear from the very outset. A foreign ministry spokesperson had said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's eastward expansion was a security concern for Russia and every side's security concern must be addressed. To quote State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the international community, particularly Western politicians, should, instead of blaming China, support peace talks between Russia and Ukraine if they want to help the people of Ukraine.