The Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022, has been extended and escalated, according to China, which has blamed an "invisible hand" for this.

On the sidelines of the National People's Congress annual session, Foreign Minister Qin Gang called for additional negotiations.

Qin demanded that peace talks pick back up as soon as possible and that all parties' legitimate security concerns be taken into account.

The conflict, according to the official, was "an eruption of the problems built up in the security governance of Europe," the official said.

It has a complicated past and complicated causes, according to Qin, who also noted that attempts at dialogue have frequently been thwarted.

“There seems to be an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict and using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agendas.”

The minister warned that either hostilities stop and the process of political settlement begins, or more fuel is added to the flames and the crisis expands.

China has denied providing weapons to its ally Russia amid the conflict. The Asian giant has not condemned Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.