BEIJING, 23 June 2022, (TON): Chinese leader Xi Jinping said “the conflict in Ukraine has sounded an alarm for humanity.”

China has refused to criticize Russia’s war in Ukraine or even to refer to it as an invasion in deference to Moscow, while also condemning U.S.-led sanctions against Russia and accusing the West of provoking Moscow.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Xi as saying “the Ukraine crisis has again sounded the alarm for humanity. Countries will surely end up in security hardships if they place blind faith in their positions of strength, expand military alliances, and seek their own safety at the expense of others.”

Xi, who did not propose any solutions, was speaking at the opening of a virtual business forum of the “BRICS” countries Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

In other comments, Xi said imposing sanctions could act as a boomerang and a double-edged sword, and that the global community would suffer from “politicizing, mechanizing and weaponizing” global economic trends and financial flows.