© EPA-EFE/JOHANNES SIMONChinese foreign affairs Minister Wang Yi speaks during the 2023 Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, 18 February 2023.
Addressing the global gathering of top politicians and security officials, Wang Yi lamented a new "Cold War mentality", stressing that Beijing would stand on the side of peace and dialogue.
He announced his country's support for peace talks, which will come in the form of a position paper on the political settlement of the war.
"We will stand firm on the side of peace and dialogue," he told the forum's audience.
In a veiled criticism towards the West, he said China believes there are "some forces" that do not want Ukraine-Russia peace talks to succeed as they would have "strategic goals stronger than Ukraine".
Comment: A number of officials have admitted the West is at war with Russia in Ukraine, there's nothing 'veiled' about that.
Beijing has not condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and has instead criticised Western sanctions against Moscow and arms sales to Kyiv.
However, the People's Republic has also avoided showing clear solidarity with Russia in order not to endanger its own trade relations with the West.
Comment: Or: China is standing by it's values, whilst it also understands Russia has no choice but to defend itself against NATO.
China's President Xi Jinping is expected to deliver a 'peace speech' on the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, likely continuing Beijing's line of calling for peace while avoiding condemnation of Moscow.
Weeks before the invasion last year, Moscow and Beijing had agreed to a "no limits" partnership and were growing closer in an axis of nations seeking to balance US global influence.
"Any increase in China's strength is an increase in the hope for world peace," Wang Yi told the audience comprised of politicians, military officials and diplomats.
'Balloon affair'
Wang Yi's attendance at the security forum comes after a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, which Beijing denies was a government spy vessel, spent a week flying over the United States and Canada before being shot down off the Atlantic Coast earlier this month on US President Joe Biden's orders.
China's top diplomat lashed out at Washington, calling Biden's decision to shoot down the balloon over US air space and declare a heightened state of alert "near-hysterical behaviour".
Comment: That doesn't sound like 'lashing out' at all, the US was behaving hysterically; even a former British ambassador said 'we shouldn't be panicking about [balloons]'.
"There are so many balloons all over the world, so is the United States going to shoot all of them down?" Wang told the audience at the conference.
"This near-hysterical behaviour shows that the ignorance and prejudices the US holds against China have reached a ridiculous level," Wang said after meeting with Pakistan's foreign minister on Friday, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who are attending the forum, have not yet confirmed plans to meet with Wang as of Saturday, amid speculation of a face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the conference in the Bavarian capital.
US and Chinese officials have spent the last few days locked in last-minute negotiations to broker a meeting between Blinken and Yi, according to people familiar with the efforts.
The downing of the alleged spy balloon prompted Blinken to postpone a planned visit to China, disrupting efforts to stabilise relations between the two countries.
Wang Yi did not say when asked by the moderator, whether he intends to meet with his US counterpart in Munich.
President Biden said on Friday he aimed to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping to "get to the bottom" of the balloon spat, without specifying the timing.
In an attempt to woo Europeans, Wang Yi also said that "if Europe and China choose dialogue and cooperation, bloc confrontation will not emerge", referencing European strategic autonomy, which some observers interpreted as an attempt to try 'divide and conquer' the European part of the forum's audience.
Comment: The US is quite obviously conquering Europe with its terror attack on their critical energy infrastructure.
Taiwan
To maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwanese independence forces must be resolutely opposed, Wang also said. China insists on Taiwan being its own territory as part of the one-China policy.
Asked by the moderator to reassure the forum's audience a military escalation over Taiwan was not imminent, Wang said:
"Let me assure the audience that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory. It has never been a country and it will never be a country in the future."
Comment: Since the West has admitted that it, along with Ukraine, had no intention of following the Minsk peace protocol, Russia and China will undoubtedly be prepared for any and all eventualities in a peace proposal is put forward.