China will be global ‘force for peace’

China will be a global force for peace and stability, the country's foreign minister Wang Yi said at a press conference in Beijing yesterday. "In the face of complex turmoil in the international environment, China will persist in being a force for peace, a force for stability, and a force for progress in the world," Wang told reporters. Wang made his comments at China's largest annual political gathering, which opened in Beijing earlier this week. The "Two Sessions" -- parallel meetings of China's rubber-stamp parliament and political consultative body -- offer a rare glimpse into the strategy of the Communist Party-led government for the year ahead. This year's gathering is being closely watched for signals as to Chinese leaders' confidence in current geopolitical conditions, as tensions persist across the Taiwan Strait and Russia's war in Ukraine enters its third year. "We resolutely oppose all acts of hegemony and bullying, and will strongly uphold national sovereignty and security as well as development interests," Wang said yesterday. He also called Israel's war in Gaza a "disgrace for civilisation" and reiterated Beijing's calls for an "immediate ceasefire". "It is a tragedy for humankind and a disgrace for civilisation that today, in the 21st century, this humanitarian disaster cannot be stopped," Wang told journalists at a press conference.