Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday hit out at the US and EU for imposing sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the act of wilfully imposing curbs will harm people around the world.
History has shown that hegemony, group politics and bloc confrontations bring neither peace nor stability, but rather war and conflict, President Xi said in a keynote speech delivered in a virtual format at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum.
The Ukraine crisis has again sounded the alarm for humanity: Countries will surely end up in security hardships if they place blind faith in their positions of strength, expand military alliances, and seek their own safety at the expense of others, Xi was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.
In his speech at the Business Forum, Xi hit out at the US and EU for imposing sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the act of wilfully imposing sanctions will bring disasters to people around the world.
Describing sanctions as boomerangs and double-edged swords, Xi said those who politicise, leverage and weaponise global economy and wilfully impose sanctions by taking advantage of dominance in international financial and monetary systems will eventually harm others and themselves and bring disasters to people around the world.
The BRICS Business Forum meeting was held ahead of Thursday's 14th summit of BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which will be held in Beijing via video link followed by high-level dialogue on global development the next day.
China is this year's chair of the BRICS.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are expected to take part in the summit hosted by President Xi.
The Summit will be held in virtual format under the theme of Foster High-quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement.
Noting that safeguarding peace is the common cause of all humanity, Xi said that only if everyone cherishes and upholds peace, and remembers and learns from the bitter lessons of war, can there be the hope of peace.
"Facing the turmoil and instability in the world, we should keep firmly in mind the original aspiration of the UN Charter, as well as our mission to promote peace," Xi said.
Urging the international community to abandon zero-sum game and jointly oppose hegemony and power politics, Xi called for the building of a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, equity and justice, and mutually beneficial cooperation.
(With PTI inputs)
