Def Mins To Meet But FM Says No Weapons To Any Party In Ukraine

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu's upcoming visit to Russia (see: https://marketnews.com/china-defense-minister-to-v...) is likely to further raise concerns in Ukraine and the West about the increasingly close diplomatic and military relationship between the two nations.

• Li became defence minister just over a month ago. He was placed under US sanctions in 2018 for, "engaging in significant transactions with persons" who were already under sanctions from the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). This was primarily for transactions that involved ″Russia's transfer to China of Su-35 combat aircraft and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment″.
• On 13 April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang met in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where they discussed the war in Ukraine. Qin stated that there is "no panacea" to the conflict and that China "will continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement and restarting peace talks".
• In an effort to placate Western concerns, speaking alongside German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang stated that all sides in the conflict should remain “objective and calm.” and that “Regarding the export of military items, China adopts a prudent and responsible attitude, China will not provide weapons to relevant parties of the conflict, and manage and control the exports of dual-use items in accordance with laws and regulations,”