Xi to hold welcome ceremony for Slovak president

Chinese President Xi Jinping is about to hold a welcome ceremony for Slovak President Peter Pellegrini at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.

At the invitation of Xi, Pellegrini is on a state visit to China from Monday to Wednesday.

China on Monday called for renewed political will, dialogue and negotiations to reverse the escalating conflict in Ukraine, urging all parties to work toward a comprehensive, lasting and binding peace agreement during an emergency open meeting of the UN Security Council on the Ukraine issue.

Sun Lei, charge d'Affaires of China's Permanent Mission to the UN, noted at the meeting that the current developments surrounding the Ukraine issue are deeply concerning, with the intensity of the conflict continuing to escalate. This dangerous trend must be reversed as soon as possible, he said.

"China calls on all parties concerned to maintain contact, demonstrate political will, enhance mutual trust through dialogue, build consensus through negotiations, and strive to reach a comprehensive, lasting and binding peace agreement," Sun said.

The Chinese envoy said China remains committed to promoting a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and called for efforts to address the legitimate security concerns of all parties and tackle the root causes of the crisis in pursuit of durable peace.

"China calls on all parties concerned to abandon the cold war mentality and bloc confrontation, uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, properly address each other's legitimate security concerns, eliminate the root causes of the crisis on the basis of fully, completely and faithfully observing the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, promote the building of a balanced, effective and sustainable regional security architecture, and realize lasting peace and stability in the region," Said Sun.