China calls for developing a balanced, effective, and lasting European security framework in efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis, a Chinese envoy said Tuesday.
Addressing a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine, Sun Lei, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said that the Ukraine conflict has entered a critical stage of resolution through dialogue.
The international community's discussions on the Ukraine crisis are gradually focusing on negotiations and moving close to peace, with important stakeholders putting forward some peace talk initiatives and making a series of contacts, Sun said.
He noted that China welcomes these developments, supports all efforts towards peace, and hopes that the international community will make joint efforts to promote an early political settlement of the crisis.
China calls on all relevant parties to seize the positive momentum, move towards each other, show political will, continuously accumulate consensus and strive to reach a fair, durable and binding peace agreement at an early date, Sun said.
"The relevant parties had reached the Minsk agreement and the new Minsk agreement, but still, a crisis broke out. The ultimate reason was that each party's security concerns were not properly handled and the root cause of the conflict was not addressed. The new peace agreement should take this as a reference. China calls on all parties to uphold a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, bear in mind the principle of indivisible security, attach importance to and properly address each other's legitimate security concerns -- especially the root cause of conflict -- and develop a balanced, effective and lasting European security framework," said Sun.
Sun said that despite the strong calls for peace, ground warfare has not yet ceased. China calls on the relevant parties to exercise the greatest restraint, strictly abide by international humanitarian law, and effectively protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
China calls on the international community to increase humanitarian assistance efforts to help the people affected by the crisis get through the difficult times, Sun said.
Sun reiterated that China has consistently upheld an objective and fair stance on the Ukraine issue, calling for a ceasefire and an end to the conflict, insisting on peace talks, and promoting a political settlement. He said that China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting the political settlement of the crisis.
China calls for developing balanced, effective, lasting European security framework to resolve Ukraine crisis
The 2025 Intelligent Robot Competition concluded in Beijing on Tuesday after shining the spotlight on how robotic technology can help improve daily lives and play a key role in assisting with elderly care in the near future.
The two-month event consisted of three main categories which showcased robots' potential in performing emergency rescue work, helping with rehabilitation and elderly care, and an all-round innovation section which demonstrated the latest breakthroughs in China's intelligent robot sector.
It highlighted the progress being made in the fast-evolving robotics field, including in advanced autonomous technology, the diversification across multiple scenarios, and the emphasis on human-centered services.
One of the stand-out attractions at the competition was an exoskeleton device that drew significant attention from visitors.
The wearable device helps to strengthen a user's physical movement with mechanical assistance, particularly through the legs, but unlike previous designs, this particular model is noteworthy as it can predict user's intentions via a brainwave receiver.
"Its secret lies in the integration of a brain-computer interface module. The system reads the user's brain signals and interprets their motor intentions, which, compared to traditional passive dragging training methods, can better promote neural function remodeling and enhance rehabilitation outcomes," said Wang Junpeng, one of its developers.
Meanwhile, the application of technology in performing simple household tasks is another area which shows how these robots could make a real difference in people's everyday lives. For many families concerned about elderly relatives, these robots could act as a friendly at-home assistant.
"We've designed it for handling frequently occurring scenarios, such as heating up food in an oven or picking up dropped items. Our aim is not to replace human with robots, but to help the elderly to gain a sense of independence and dignity in their lives," said Cai Wanru, a technician who worked on the mobile robot.
Robots specialized in rehabilitation work and elderly care are already moving out of the testing laboratories and into the real world to serve families and communities, but their widespread adoption still faces challenges such as high-costs and a lack of coordination across the industrial chain.
Insiders are hopeful that the just-concluded competition in Beijing will have played a part in pushing forward the industry.
"From this Intelligent Robot Competition, we can see that robots focused on rehabilitation and elderly care have been making significant progress in terms of innovation and practicality. They're expected to be better integrated into elderly life in the future," said Liang Xuexiu, deputy general manager of the robotics division under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)'s Software and Integrated Circuit Promotion Center.
China has become the world's largest robot producer, with data from the World Robot Conference held earlier this year showing that industrial robot output grew from 33,000 units in 2015 to 556,000 in 2024, while the country's service robot output reached nearly 10.52 million units last year, a more than 34 percent year-on-year increase.
Intelligent Robot Competition showcases future of robot-assisted elderly care
