Beijing: China has hit back at the US over President Donald Trump's proposal that NATO impose 50-100% tariffs on Beijing over its purchase of Russian oil.

Reiterating that Beijing is committed to promoting peace talks for resolving hot-spot issues, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said wars cannot solve problems and highlighted that sanctions would only complicate them. He made the remarks at a press conference in Ljubljana, after meeting Slovenia's Deputy PM and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs. "China does not participate in or plan wars, and what China does is to encourage peace talks and promote political settlement of hotspot issues through dialogue," Wang Yi said.

He also gave a call to promote multilateralism, strengthen multilateral mechanisms, and jointly safeguard the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. He highlighted that in the present times the international situation is characterised by intertwined chaos and continuous conflicts.

"China and Europe should be friends rather than rivals and should cooperate rather than confront each other. Making the right choices amid the greatest changes in a century demonstrates the responsibilities that both sides should fulfil towards history and the people," Wang Yi said. His veiled reference comes shortly after US President Donald Trump on Saturday proposed that NATO impose tariffs of 50 per cent to 100 per cent on China. "I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50 per cent to 100 per cent TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR," Trump wrote on Truth Social.