China rejects U.S. accusations over normal China-Russia exchanges

BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua) -- China firmly rejects U.S. groundless accusations over its normal trade and economic exchanges with Russia, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday.

The United States keeps making groundless accusations over the normal trade and economic exchanges between China and Russia, while passing a bill providing large amount of aid for Ukraine, Wang told a regular news briefing when asked to comment on U.S. accusations and possible sanctions regarding the issue.

"Fueling the flames while shifting blame to others, this is just hypocritical and highly irresponsible. China firmly rejects this," he said.

Wang said that on the Ukraine issue, China's position has always been just and objective. China has made efforts to promote talks for peace and a political settlement. The Chinese government regulates the export of dual-use articles in accordance with the laws and regulations.

"China is neither the creator of the Ukraine crisis nor a party to it. We never fan the flames or seek selfish gains, and we will certainly not accept being the scapegoat," Wang said.

Wang stressed again that based on equality and mutual benefit, China's right to conduct normal trade and economic exchanges with Russia and other countries should not be interfered with or disrupted. "China's legitimate and lawful rights and interests should not be infringed on."

It is not the right way to solve the Ukraine issue by fanning the flames or smearing others, Wang said, adding that only accommodating the legitimate security concerns of all parties and creating a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture through dialogue and negotiation is the right way forward.