China to Continue to Stand on 'Right Side of History' in Ukrainian Issue - Top Diplomat

BEIJING, (Sputnik) - China will continue to stand firmly "on the right side of history" in the Ukrainian issue, advocating for reconciliation and negotiations, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.

Wang met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali.

"China opposes the use of the Ukrainian crisis to inflame the ideology of the Cold War in the world and confront the camps, constructing a new Cold War. When the world is facing serious challenges, it needs unity, not fragmentation," Wang said during the meeting, adding that China will continue to stand firm "on the right side of history, on the side of those who insist on reconciliation and negotiation."

Wang added that China also opposes any attempt to compare the Ukrainian crisis with the Taiwan issue and will firmly defend its core interests.

Taiwan alienated Beijing after becoming a stronghold of the Chinese Nationalist Party (the Kuomintang) which was defeated by the Communist Party in a civil war in 1949. The Chinese mainland and the island resumed business and informal contact in the late 1980s. Beijing opposes any official contact of foreign countries with Taiwan and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.