Chinese President Xi Jinping Affirms Unilateral Sanctions Won't Work: We Must Uphold Security Principles

President China Xi Jinping. (Wikimedia Commons/Palácio do Planalto)

JAKARTA - Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated China's opposition to unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction" in a speech on Thursday, without directly mentioning Western punitive measures against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

China has repeatedly criticized western sanctions, including sanctions against Russia, but has also been careful not to provide assistance to Moscow that could lead to sanctions being imposed on Beijing.

Delivering a video address at the annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, Xi warned economic "separation" and pressure tactics such as severing supply chains would not work.

"China wants to put forward a global security initiative" that upholds the "indivisible security principle," he said.

"We must uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the development of national security on the basis of insecurity in other countries," Xi said.

Russia insists Western governments must respect the 1999 agreement based on the principle of 'indivisible security', no country can strengthen its own security at the expense of others.

China and Russia are known to be getting closer, with Beijing having refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a 'special operation'. China has blamed the Ukraine crisis on NATO's eastward expansion.

President Xi said efforts were needed to stabilize global supply chains, but also said China's economy was resilient and its long-term trend had not changed.

China's economy is facing challenges from the impact of its aggressive efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19, especially in its economic hub, Shanghai. Interestingly, President Xi did not mention China's COVID-19 crisis during his speech.