China called on “relevant parties” to avoid escalating hostilities following Russian threats of intensified missile strikes on Kyiv, while refusing to say whether it will evacuate its diplomatic staff from the Ukrainian capital.
Beijing reiterated its standard position that dialogue remains the only viable path to ending the war, according to remarks by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a regular briefing on Tuesday.
“China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. We believe that dialogue and negotiations are the only viable way to resolve the conflict,” Mao said in response to a Ukrinform question on Moscow’s latest threats.
She added that all sides should work to prevent further escalation.
“We call on relevant parties to work together to make efforts to end escalation as soon as possible and create conditions for the resumption of dialogue and negotiations,” she said.
Pressed on whether China would yield to Russian pressure and evacuate embassy personnel from Kyiv, Mao neither confirmed nor denied any such plans.
China has maintained its diplomatic presence in Kyiv throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion launched in February 2022, later relocating its embassy operations to Lviv in the early months of the war.
While Beijing continues to present itself as neutral, it has avoided describing Russia as the aggressor and Ukraine as the victim, and has remained largely outside international efforts aimed at ending the war.
Chinese officials have repeatedly issued broad calls for ceasefire and de-escalation, though Russia has continued its attacks despite such statements.
The comments come after Russia’s Foreign Ministry claimed that its forces were beginning “systematic” strikes on Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and so-called “decision-making centres,” while urging foreign nationals and diplomatic staff to leave the capital.
In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha dismissed the warnings as “shameless blackmail,” saying such rhetoric would not intimidate Western diplomats operating in Kyiv.
EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova said that Western missions will remain in the Ukrainian capital despite Russian threats, criticizing what she called Moscow’s attempt to weaponize fear amid its ongoing war against Ukraine.