CHINA’S foreign minister says that his country wants to play a role in ending the conflict between Kiev and Moscow but called for an end to the language of “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.”

Qin Gang told participants at a security conference in Beijing that China was concerned that the almost year-long war could escalate further and spin “out of control.”

China would continue to urge peace talks and provide “Chinese wisdom” to bring about a political settlement, he said.

“At the same time we urge relevant countries to immediately stop adding fuel to the fire, stop shifting the blame to China and stop hyping up the discourse of ‘Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow’,” Mr Qin said.

The remarks appeared to be a reference to military support provided to Ukraine by the United States and its allies, as well as concerns that China is preparing to make good on its threats to use force to assert its claim to sovereignty over Taiwan.

Mr Qin reiterated China’s claim that it has “always taken an objective and impartial stance based on the merits of the issue.”

“China is deeply worried about the escalation of the situation and even the possibility of it going out of control,” Mr Qin said. 

He said that Chinese President Xi Jinping had put forward proposals that have “played a responsible and constructive role in easing the situation and de-escalating the crisis,” without offering any details or evidence.

“We will continue to promote peace talks, provide Chinese wisdom for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation to address the concerns of all parties and seek common security,” Mr Qin said.

Top Chinese foreign policy chief Wang Yi arrived in Moscow on today ahead of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov hailed Russia-China ties as “multidimensional and allied in nature.”

This comes as China’s Foreign Ministry issued a lengthy statement today outlining President Xi’s global security initiative.

The Foreign Ministry statement says the aim of the initiative is to “eliminate the root causes of international conflicts, improve global security governance, encourage joint international efforts to bring more stability and certainty to a volatile and changing era and promote durable peace and development in the world.”

The statement said that the initiative would also “support political settlement of hotspot issues such as the Ukraine crisis through dialogue and negotiation.”