China says it backs new US and Russian ‘consensus’ on Ukraine war – POLITICO

Wang met his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in  Johannesburg on Thursday.

Wang’s remarks come after American and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia this week, without Kyiv’s involvement, to discuss ending the conflict. The talks in Riyadh have raised fears that Washington and Moscow could broker a peace deal on terms favorable to Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has long threatened to pull American aid from Ukraine, has echoed Kremlin talking points in recent days, calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” and blaming Kyiv for Moscow’s brutal full-scale invasion.

China has been one of the Kremlin’s most important allies during its assault on Ukraine, and Western officials have accused Beijing of providing materials and technologies to bolster the Russian war machine. China has repeatedly denied the claims and insisted it is impartial.

Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to deepen ties between their countries, building on a statement the two leaders signed just before the invasion of Ukraine that proclaimed there were “no limits” to Sino-Russian cooperation.