'US-China must bear responsibility for peace': Xi Jinping to Biden amid Ukraine-Russia war

"Conflict and confrontation are not in anyone’s interest", Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out during his video call with US President Joe Biden on March 18. According to Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, during the high-level interaction, President Xi mentioned that the world is 'neither tranquil nor stable' at the moment and asserted that the two countries must shoulder responsibilities to guide it towards peace.

"The Ukraine crisis is not something we want to see. The events again show countries should not come to the point of meeting on the battlefield. Conflict and confrontation are not in anyone’s interest. Peace and security are what the international community should treasure the most," Xi Jinping told his American counterpart, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson. 

"As permanent members of the UN Security Council and the world’s two leading economies, China & the US must not only guide the China-US relations forward along the right track, but also shoulder our share of international responsibilities and work for world peace and tranquillity," she added.

US-China relations amid Russia-Ukraine war

The call between Biden and Xi comes after the meeting of US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan and Chinese diplomat, Yang Jiechi on Monday. Sullivan met Chinese Communist Party Politburo Member Jiechi in Rome on March 14. During the meeting, Sullivan raised issues in US-China ties and discussed the Russian attack against Ukraine. Both highlighted the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the US and China. 

It is pertinent to mention here that the conversation between two leaders also comes as the Russia-Ukraine war enters the 23rd day on Friday. US officials have rebuked China's response to Russia's war in Ukraine. China has also on a number of occasions, spoken against the slew of sanctions against the Putin-led country.  Earlier, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in the tweet alleged that Russia made 'false claims' regarding the Ukraine war, and accused China of endorsing the 'propaganda'.

She wrote on Twitter, "Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation using them. It’s a clear pattern."