Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a press conference Tuesday on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress in Beijing.

“As the world is undergoing major changes unseen in a century, China will continue to pursue the independent foreign policy of peace and continue to implement the mutually beneficial strategy of opening-up,” Qin said in the opening remarks.

China will always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order, he said.

Here are some of the highlights of the press conference.

Chinese modernization

Chinese modernization offers solutions to many challenges facing human development, Qin said.

Achieving the modernization of a country of more than 1.4 billion people will be an unprecedented feat in human history, one of profound global significance in itself, he told reporters.

“It busts the myth that modernization is westernization. It creates a new form of human advancement, and it provides an important source of inspiration for the world, especially developing countries,” he said.

China-Russia ties 

The relationship between China and Russia is based on the principles of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties, Qin said.

With China and Russia working together, the world will have the driving force toward multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations, and global strategic balance and stability will be better ensured, he added. 

China-U.S. relations

The U.S. perception and views toward China are seriously distorted, Qin said. 

China hopes the United States will explore the right way to get along with China to the benefit of both countries and the entire world.

Taiwan question

How to resolve the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese people and no other country has the right to interfere in it, Qin said.

“We will work with the greatest sincerity and exert utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification, but will reserve the option of taking all necessary measures,” he added.

Ukraine crisis

Qin called for “calmness, rationality and dialogue” to solve the Ukraine crisis, which he termed a tragedy that could have been avoided.

Qin said the Ukraine crisis has come to a critical juncture, and conflict, sanctions and pressure won’t solve it. China chooses peace over war, dialogue over sanctions, and lowering the temperature over fanning the flame, he said.

Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative is a high-quality public good initiated by China and jointly built by all partners, whose benefits are shared by the world, Qin said, adding that it is never China that should be accused of creating the so-called debt traps.

The Belt and Road Initiative has attracted the participation of over three-fourths of countries in the world and 32 international organizations, created some 420,000 jobs in countries along the routes and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty over the past decade, he added.