Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Saturday reiterated China's stance on peaceful development and called for mutual trust to promote a safer world.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made his remarks at this year's Munich Security Conference (MSC), an international platform for discussions on global security issues.

"Standing at a critical juncture of history, human society must not repeat path of antagonism, division and confrontation, and must not fall into the trap of zero-sum game, war and conflict," he said in his speech.

Making the world a safer place is the strong desire of all people, the common responsibility of all countries and more importantly, the right direction for the advance of our times, Wang stressed.

"For a safer world, we must all insist on respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, on the peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and consultation, on returning to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and on the key role of development," said Wang.

He went on to say, "with every increase in China's strength, there will be more hope for peace in the world; with all countries working together for peaceful development, the future of mankind will be filled with light."

Noting China and Europe are two major forces, two major markets and two major civilizations in the multipolarization process, Wang said the choices China and Europe make are pivotal to the direction of the world.

He urged the European side to join hands with China and to build a safer world together.

According to Wang, China will set out its position on settling the Ukraine crisis through political settlement in a document and will publish release a Global Security Initiative Concept Paper to propose more feasible initiatives to address today's security dilemmas.

About 150 senior officials, including over 40 heads of state and government, and leaders of international organizations are attending the three-day MSC to discuss pressing global security challenges and concerns, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, for the first time in two decades, Russian leaders were not invited to the event.

Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee speaks at the Munich Security Conference, Munich, Germany, February 18, 2023. /Chinese Foreign Ministry

Firm opposition to "Taiwan independence" required for peace

Peace across the Taiwan Strait should be maintained through firm opposition to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and unswerving adherence to the one-China principle, which is also the consensus of the international community, Wang said when answering questions about Taiwan.

He said that Taiwan has been a part of China since ancient times, has never been a state, and will never become a state, which is the true status quo of the Taiwan question.

"It is not us but the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces who want to change this status quo," he noted, stressing that acts of "Taiwan independence" are incompatible with peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait "as fire and water."

As all sides stressed the need to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Ukraine issue, this principle should also be adhered to on the Taiwan question, he said.

Wang pointed out that China's sovereignty and territorial integrity should be firmly upheld, and double standards on major issues should not be engaged in.

Dialogue necessary for Ukraine crisis

China has "neither stood by idly nor thrown fuel on the fire" regarding the crisis in Ukraine, and continues to call for peace and dialogue, Wang stressed when answering question on the Ukraine issues.

"I suggest that everybody starts to think calmly, especially friends in Europe, about what kind of efforts we can make to stop this war," said Wang.

He also pointed out there were "some forces that seemingly don't want negotiations to succeed, or for the war to end soon."

Wang mentioned China will state all countries' territorial integrity must be respected in its position document on Ukraine crisis.

U.S. handling of balloon incident 'hysterical'

The senior Chinese diplomat slammed the U.S. handling of the balloon incident as "unimaginable" and "hysterical", when answering a related question.

Tensions between the world's two largest economies flared after the White House ordered an F-22 fighter jet to shoot down what it suspected to be a surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

Wang said the balloon was a strayed civilian airship, and said the U.S. act is "absurd," which violated international norms.

There are so many balloons all over the world, so is the U.S. going to shoot all of them down, Wang questioned.

He urged the U.S. to show its sincerity and correct its mistakes, face up and resolve this incident, which has damaged Sino-U.S. relations.

He also blasted the U.S. over its "misguided" perception of Beijing as a geopolitical challenge and threat, saying Washington was trying to "smear" China.

Citing the U.S. chips act as an example, Wang said it was "100 percent protectionism, 100 percent selfishness, 100 percent unilateral action".

Wang urged the U.S. to adopt an objective and an impartial view towards China's development, pursue a positive and pragmatic policy toward China, and work with the Chinese side to promote a healthy and stable return to the track of Sino-U.S. relations.

This not only serves the interests of the two countries and peoples, but also meets the general expectation of the international community, he added.

Global Security Initiative concept paper

China will publish a concept paper on its Global Security Initiative (GSI) soon, Wang said during his speech at the conference.

The initiative was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping last year in response to mounting conflicts and security challenges in today's world.

Wang said the paper aims to lay out a more systematic approach and more practical measures to address global security challenges.

He noted that President Xi had proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the GSI, which offered China's proposals and wisdom for advancing peace and development, the two main issues facing humanity.

As of now, more than 100 countries and many international organizations, including the United Nations, have expressed support for the two initiatives.

Nearly 70 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI, according to Wang.