Xi Jinping, China's president, said on Thursday that his country favors discussions to settle international conflicts and opposes the "unnecessary use" of penalties.

        Xi's comments underscore China's refusal to denounce Russia's invasion of Ukraine, despite the conflict's devastating impact on the Ukrainian people and world security.



        Beijing has declined to term the battle an invasion, claiming that NATO's expansion provoked Russia. Despite this, Xi stated that China is "committed to preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other nations" and to refraining from interfering in their domestic affairs.

        "We remain committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation," Xi said in a televised address to an international forum in the southern island province of Hainan. "We support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises, reject double standards, and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction."

        On previous UN proposals, China has abstained or voted with Russia, and China's state-controlled media have repeated Russian misinformation about Ukraine orchestrating attacks and creating biological weapons with US assistance.

        Xi and Putin met in Beijing less than a month before Russia's invasion on February 24, and the two sides issued a joint statement reinforcing their "no boundaries" alliance.

        Despite the introduction of economic sanctions by other countries, China has maintained its support for Moscow, claiming that Russian forces may have committed war crimes. China also claims that regular commercial relations exist between the two countries.

        China is also said to be monitoring the Ukraine issue to see how it could impact its attitude toward Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy that it has threatened to attack in order to seize control over. Taiwan and China divided in 1949 after a civil war, although China claims the island as its own.

        U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin talked with his Chinese counterpart for the first time on Wednesday since taking over the Pentagon more than a year ago, breaking a communications stalemate that American officials considered as growingly perilous.

        After months of unsuccessful attempts to speak with Gen. Xu Qiliang, the highest ranking uniformed officer in the Communist Party military structure, Austin, who calls China the US military's leading long-term challenge but has been forced to focus heavily on Russia this year, requested the phone conversation with Gen. Wei Fenghe.

        China has "always opposed unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that lack a basis in international law and are not authorized by the (United Nations) Security Council," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a daily briefing on Thursday.

        “Sanctions are not the right way to de-escalate tensions, end wars or avoid casualties, but will only exacerbate conflicts, increase spillover and make the world pay more,” Wang said.