Beijing said Friday it "strongly opposes" calls to put economic pressure on China, after US President Donald Trump urged European countries to do so over the war in Ukraine.
China has never denounced Russia's war nor called for it to withdraw its troops, and many of Ukraine's allies believe that Beijing has provided support to Moscow.
China insists it is a neutral party, regularly calling for an end to the fighting while also accusing Western countries of prolonging the conflict by arming Ukraine.
Speaking by video conference with European leaders gathered in Paris on Thursday, Trump urged them to put pressure on China and also said, "Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war," a senior White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Asked Friday about Trump's comments, China's foreign ministry said Beijing was "neither creator of this (Ukraine) crisis nor a party to it".
"We firmly oppose the practice of constantly dragging China into the matter, and we strongly oppose the imposition of so-called economic pressure on China," spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press briefing.
Moscow and Beijing declared a "no limits partnership" shortly before Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's Ukraine offensive in February 2022, and economic and political ties have only deepened since.
China's President Xi Jinping stood next to Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at a huge military parade on Wednesday marking 80 years since the end of World War II, a move criticised by the European Union's top diplomat, among others.
Beijing has said its invitation of "foreign guests" was in order to "work together with peace-loving countries and peoples to remember history".
Asked twice by a journalist on Friday to answer "yes" or "no" as to whether China considered Putin's Russia a "peace-loving country", spokesman Guo declined to directly answer.
With AFP
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