Claim of NATO chief false news 'in itself'

Time will tell that China stays on the right side of history and any ungrounded accusation and doubt of China will collapse, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday.

He made the remarks while dismissing the claim by NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that China has spread "lies and disinformation" over the Ukraine crisis.

Stoltenberg made the accusation on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.

"Such an accusation is disinformation in itself," Wang told a daily news conference.

China has been working actively to achieve an early cease-fire and avoid a humanitarian crisis in an objective and fair manner, Wang said. "We have always believed that Ukraine should be a bridge for communication between the East and the West, instead of a front line of games between major powers," the spokesman said.

European countries should uphold strategic independence and work with Russia and Ukraine to build a balanced, effective and sustainable security framework for Europe through talks, Wang said, adding that the United States and NATO should also talk with Russia to solve the crux of the crisis.

"What is needed to resolve the crisis is a cool head and a rational mind, not adding fuel to the fire," Wang said.

"What is needed to restore peace is dialogue and communication, not pressure or coercion. What is needed to achieve lasting peace and stability is efforts to accommodate the legitimate security concerns of all parties, not moves to seek bloc confrontation and absolute security."

China's position is in line with the wishes of most countries, he said.

Bio-labs in Ukraine

In another development, Wang said the US should make serious clarification about bio-labs in Ukraine and "open up its door for international scrutiny", after US State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday that China is spreading "disinformation... about... biological weapons programs".

The international community is seriously concerned about the labs' purpose and whether the US has conducted in the Ukraine labs and labs in other countries hazardous research that is prohibited in the US, Wang said.

The US, which has responded "with many loopholes" to the international community's doubt over the labs, should not dodge the issue with silence or by simply claiming the doubt is "disinformation".

It should make convincing explanations over its biological military activities in Ukraine and the world as soon as possible, and stop being the only country blocking the establishment of a verification mechanism under the Biological Weapons Convention, Wang added.