Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday sought to present China as a source of stability in the world amid turbulent times, saying Beijing would fight for peace while staunchly defending its interests.

Wang, who was facing the world's media at a press conference during the "two sessions", spoke highly of China's "resilient" ties with Russia while warning the United States that Beijing would resolutely respond to Washington's attempts to contain Chinese development.

In the 90-minute press conference, the top diplomat also laid out Beijing's positions on a range of issues including the Ukraine war, the Middle East, Taiwan, and the South China Sea.

This year, Wang fielded 23 questions, more than the 21 answered last year. Here are some of the key takeaways.

Wang spoke about the US multiple times throughout the press conference, calling out Washington's "suppression" of China's development on several occasions.

On how China would engage with the new administration of US President Donald Trump, the Chinese diplomat said mutual respect was the basic principle governing relations and that "no country should fantasise that it can suppress China and maintain good relations with China at the same time".

"Such two-faced acts are not good for the stability of bilateral relations or for building mutual trust," he said.

Wang's comments came as Trump pushed ahead with tariffs on Chinese goods, a move that led to quick retaliation by Beijing.

"If the US continues to contain China, we will resolutely counteract," he said.

But Wang also appeared to offer some conciliatory remarks, saying that cooperation between the US and China would bring about mutual benefit and that it was "fully possible" for the two rival economies to become partners and contribute to each other's success.

Wang said China's foreign policy was increasingly welcomed by the international community, and its role in addressing global challenges was increasingly "expected and commended" by countries around the world.

"Choices made by countries, especially major countries, will determine the trajectory of our times and shape the future of the world. China's diplomacy will stand firm on the right side of history," he said.

"We will provide certainty to this uncertain world ... We will be a just and righteous force for world peace and stability."

Wang described countries in the Global South as a "key force for maintaining world peace, driving world development and improving global governance". He noted that these developing countries accounted for over 40 per cent of global GDP.

"The Global South holds the key to bringing stability to the world and making it a better place," he added, calling for greater unity and cooperation among emerging economies.

"No matter how the world changes, our heart will always be with the Global South, and our roots will grow deeper in the Global South," Wang said.

Asked about China's relations with Russia, Wang said the deep friendship and momentum of ties between the two neighbours would not change, no matter how the international landscape evolved.

Their "mature and resilient relationship ... will not be swayed by any turn of events or be affected by any third party," he said, adding that the China-Russia relationship was a stabilising force in the world.

On a separate question on the Ukraine war, Wang called Beijing's stance "objective and impartial", noting that the Chinese government had promoted peace since the conflict erupted more than three years ago. He said China was willing to work with the international community to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis.

But Wang stopped short of making an explicit call for European countries - including Ukraine - to be included in ceasefire negotiations.

Wang issued harsh remarks on the South China Sea, suggesting that extraterritorial countries were behind the Philippines' maritime frictions with Beijing.

"Infringement and provocation will backfire, and those acting as others' chess pieces are bound to be discarded," he said.

His comments come amid heightened tensions with Manila in the key international waterway, which China claims almost entirely. Several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

Wang said China would firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty but added that the situation in the South China Sea remained stable given the joint efforts by China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

External forces are behind the frictions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, top diplomat Wang Yi said on Friday. 

6. Israel-Gaza war

On the Middle East conflict, Wang dismissed US President Donald Trump's proposal to take over Gaza, saying that Gaza belonged to the Palestinian people and that "changing its status by forceful means will not bring peace but new chaos".

He pledged Beijing's support for Egypt's peace plan, as well as that of other Arab countries, and said that China would continue to back the two-state solution.

"The crux of the cycle of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict lies in the fact that the two-state solution is only half achieved, with the state of Israel long established and the state of Palestine still out of reach," Wang said.

Asked how China viewed its ties with the European Union (EU) amid growing economic tensions over electric vehicles, Wang said China believed that the two sides had the "capacity and wisdom" to resolve issues through consultations.

He said China and the EU should deepen strategic dialogue and mutual trust, and that Beijing believed that Europe could become a trusted partner to China.

China and the European bloc will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ties this year.

Responding to a question about Taiwan, Wang reiterated earlier statements that Taiwan had never been a country.

"It was not in the past, and it will never be in the future," he said.

Support for Taiwan independence would jeopardise stability in the Taiwan Strait, he said. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited, by force if necessary.

"Seeking Taiwan independence is doomed to backfire, and using Taiwan to contain China will be nothing but a futile attempt. China will realise reunification, and this is unstoppable," he said.

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'Major powers should not bully the weak', China foreign minister says

Beijing will "resolutely counter" U.S. pressure on tariffs and the fentanyl issue, China's foreign minister said on Friday, adding that major powers "should not bully the weak", in a veiled swipe at the Trump administration's foreign policy.

Top diplomat Wang Yi also presented China as a reliable global power in the midst of geopolitical turmoil and U.S. President Donald Trump's withdrawal from international institutions, part of a clear appeal from Beijing to Europe and countries in the Global South.

The U.S. levied an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports this week over the continued flow of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the country, threatening to worsen an escalatory spiral of trade actions.

"If one side blindly exerts pressure, China will resolutely counter that," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference on the sidelines of China's annual parliamentary meeting.

The U.S. "should not repay kindness with grievances, let alone impose tariffs without reason," Wang added, referring to the "various assistance" Beijing has provided Washington on tackling the flow of fentanyl precursor drugs into the U.S.

No country can suppress China on the one hand and develop good relations with China on the other, said Wang, when asked how China would engage with the Trump administration over the next four years.

Such a "two-faced" approach is not helpful to stable ties, he said, without identifying any individual in the U.S. administration.

Wang's largely subdued remarks on the U.S., without mentioning Trump once by name, suggested Beijing wishes to keep the prospect of potential future trade talks alive, said Wen-Ti Sung, a Taiwan-based nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub.

"They want to pursue any room for de-escalation with Trump when it comes to trade," Sung said. "One way of doing it is to keep the level of rhetorical intensity down to manageable size to preserve room for manoeuvre for both sides."

UKRAINE STANCE

On resolving the Ukraine war, China wants to achieve a "fair, lasting and binding peace agreement" acceptable to all parties, Wang Yi said.

"China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in the final resolution of the crisis and the realisation of lasting peace, in accordance with the wishes of the parties concerned, together with the international community."

Western countries have urged Beijing to take a more active role in using its economic leverage over Russia to stop the war, but Beijing has so far refused to publicly criticise its strategic partner or halt its economic support of Moscow.

China-Russia relations are a "constant in a turbulent world, not a variable in geopolitical games," Wang told the press conference.

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently reaffirmed Beijing's "no limits" partnership with Moscow in a telephone call with his Russian counterpart on the third anniversary of Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Trump has upended U.S. policy on Ukraine after taking office last month, showing a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has unnerved Washington's traditional allies in the West.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday the Ukraine conflict is a "proxy war" between Washington and Moscow that needs to end, and has previously said that Washington wishes to "peel off" Moscow from Beijing.

Analysts say Beijing wishes to exploit the growing transatlantic rift to bolster its ties with European countries, which have been strained over Ukraine and trade tensions.

"China still has confidence in Europe, and believes Europe can still be China's trusted partner," Wang said.

GLOBAL SOUTH

Wang also urged developing countries to "continue to improve our representation and discourse power in global governance".

"If every country emphasizes its own national priorities and believes in strength and status, the world will regress to the law of the jungle, small and weak countries will bear the brunt," said Wang in a veiled reference to Washington's actions.

"Major powers ... should not be profit-driven, and they should not bully the weak."

Within the first two months of taking office, Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from several multilateral organisations and climate agreements, suspended most foreign aid, and voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia for the Ukraine invasion.

"At a time when the Trump administration's foreign policy is revising a lot of established expectations, China wants to present itself as preserving the status quo," said Sung, the analyst.

"When the Global South sees a retrenching, inward-looking U.S., there's a fear of a strategic vacuum - one that China intends to help fill."

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