Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Tuesday called on the parties to the conflict in Ukraine to start peace talks at an early date, stressing that the war there is being driven by an "invisible hand" in order to prolong and escalate the conflict.

"The invisible hand is using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agendas," Chen said on the sidelines of the annual meeting of parliament in Beijing.

"Conflict, sanctions and pressure will not solve the problem," he said, calling for the legitimate security concerns of all parties to be respected.

With regard to Beijing's position on the war, the Chinese minister said that his country is not a party to the crisis and has not provided weapons to both sides of the conflict, criticizing US statements regarding imposing unspecified sanctions on China if it sends lethal equipment to Russia.

Chen's reiteration of China's position on the Ukraine war comes amid growing tension between Beijing and Western countries that have questioned China's sincerity as a mediator when it refused to see Russia as the aggressor in the conflict.


Relations with Washington

On the other hand, the minister blamed the United States for the increase in tension between Washington and Beijing, and said that if the United States does not change course, there will be "conflict and confrontation."

He added that the United States' perceptions and views of China are "very distorted," and said, "It regards China as its main competitor and its greatest geopolitical challenge, and this is like the first button on a shirt if it is put wrong."

The Chinese minister stressed that what Washington calls competition means in fact containing and suppressing China, and that Beijing rejects hegemony, unilateral sanctions and the mentality of the Cold War.

With regard to Taiwan, Chen said that calls for Taiwan's secession represent a real threat to stability and peace in the Taiwan Strait, and said that if the US side wants to establish peace in the Taiwan Strait, it must oppose calls for its secession.

Relations between the two superpowers have been tense for years over issues including Taiwan, trade and Ukraine, but they worsened after the controversy over a balloon that the United States said was a Chinese spy device and shot down last month.

The Middle East

With regard to China's relationship with the countries of the region, the Chinese minister said that his country fully respects the countries of the Middle East and sees them as valuable to their own affairs, stressing that Beijing has "no intention to fill the so-called" vacuum ".

He said China will continue to advocate for justice and support countries in this region in their pursuit of political settlement of hot-spot issues through dialogue and consultation.