Foreign Minister (MNE) João Gomes Cravinho said on Friday that he has asked China to use its influence to remove Russian President Vladimir Putin from rhetoric over the use of weapons of mass destruction.
In New York, where he participated in the 77th United Nations (UN) General Assembly, Cravinho said he used his meeting Wednesday with China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to address the invasion. from Ukraine.
“Yes, we talked about the war. What I pointed out to my Chinese colleague was that while we may have different ideas about the nature of war, it was crucial that China used its influence to explain to President Putin that the rhetoric about the use of weapons of mass destruction is absolutely unacceptable and unreasonable and that it was essential that they be removed from the Russian president’s vocabulary.”said the Portuguese MNE.
Since the beginning of the war, China has been one of the countries that has refrained from condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine, at venues such as the Security Council and the UN General Assembly.
However, Wang Yi assured his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kouleba, on Friday that Beijing demanded respect for the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of all countries, according to Chinese state media.
As for the meeting between the Portuguese and Chinese multinational, the Chinese state agency reported that Wang Yi noted that the “The relationship between China and Portugal withstood the test of changes in the international scenario and reached a solid development based on mutual understanding and trust,” adding that the “Chinese people have friendly feelings towards Portuguese”.
“The two countries have made progress in practical cooperation while overcoming the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Wang said, adding that the export of Portuguese agricultural and food products to China is growing rapidly, and the cooperation between major food companies, both countries, as well as the tripartite cooperation, is progressing.
Wang Yi also said that Portugal, “as an important member of the European Union”, has played a positive and constructive role in exchanges between China and the European bloc.
According to the Xinhua news agency, China has shown its willingness to work with Portugal to jointly defend the UN’s central role in international affairs and advance the cause of peace, development and progress.
Wang Yi also expressed hope that the European Union would adopt an “objective, rational and impartial stance” to produce “win-win results”.
As for Cravinho’s stance, Xinhua said the Portuguese emphasized China’s critical role in addressing common challenges, such as ensuring peace and security and combating climate change.
Cravinho praised the effectiveness of the “one country, two systems” principle in Macau and said he hoped Macau would continue to function as a bridge to facilitate cooperation between Portugal and China, Xinhua said.
Source: DN
