Urges calm?

China urges calm and restraint after Russia strikes Ukraine with new missile

From Edward Szekeres

China has called for restraint in the aftermath of Moscow using a nuclear-capable ballistic missile in a strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, and said all parties need to “cool down the situation.”

The strike came in response to Ukraine targeting Russia this week with longer-range missiles made in the US, UK and France.

“All parties should maintain calmness and restraint, promote dialogue and consultation to cool down the situation, and accumulate conditions for the early realization of a ceasefire and political resolution of the crisis,” a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said at a regular press conference on Friday, when asked about the Russian missile.

The ministry also reiterated China’s public position on the conflict, saying “the crisis should be resolved through political means to avoid escalation of the situation.”

Some context: NATO has previously called China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, accusing Beijing of bolstering Russia’s defense sector with the export of dual-use goods. Beijing has denied supplying weaponry and maintains it keeps strict controls on such goods.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have deepened ties since Moscow’s invasion.