Concerted efforts must be made to prevent Ukraine crisis from spiralling out of control

The humanitarian aid worth 5 million yuan ($791,000) China is providing Ukraine is a demonstration of China shouldering its responsibilities as a major country.

An initial batch of the aid was sent to the Ukrainian Red Cross just hours after President Xi Jinping held a video conference with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday, in which he called on the French and German leaders to jointly support peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to resolve tensions, and urged the two warring sides to exercise maximum restraint to avoid a worsening humanitarian crisis. It is predicted that if the fighting continues up to 5 million people could flee the country in the foreseeable future.

His remarks highlight the great importance that China attaches to the roles France and Germany can play in preventing the current conflict from escalating and spiralling out of control, which he said was the pressing task of the moment.

For a long time, France and Germany, as the two major powers on the European continent and the backbone of the European Union, have assumed irreplaceable roles in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in Europe. Xi's commending of their mediation efforts in the current crisis indicates the high hopes China pins on the two countries acting as stabilizers of the situation, and its hopes that the three countries can work together to encourage Russia and Ukraine to keep up the momentum of negotiations so they produce a breakthrough.

The consensus of the three leaders on promoting peace through dialogue should represent the mainstream voice of the international community and the direction for the joint efforts of the world, which needs to work together to prevent a worsening humanitarian crisis and reduce the negative impact of the conflict.

The sanctions imposed on Russia, including the sanctions the US slammed on Russian oil and gas on Tuesday, which prompted Moscow to threaten to suspend exports of staple commodities soon after, will affect global finance, energy, transportation and stability of supply chains, and dampen the global economy that is already ravaged by the pandemic.

Countries cannot choose their neighbors. But they can choose to get along well with each other by focusing on their common interests. As Xi noted, what the European countries need to work for is not just an end to the current hostilities, but a lasting security mechanism for the continent.

The current US-dominated NATO-based security mechanism is divisive, exclusive and outdated and has only served to plunge Europe into an avoidable war by shackling the European Union member states to the perverted geopolitical worldview of the US.

Noting that China and the EU share much common understanding on promoting peace, seeking development and advancing cooperation, Xi said that the two sides should enhance their dialogue and cooperation so they can shoulder their shared responsibility to bring more stability and certainty to a turbulent world.