ISTANBUL

China on Thursday called on Ukraine to delist Beijing’s second-largest state-owned railway construction company as “war sponsor,” local media reported.

“China always stands on the side of peace and justice on the issue of Ukraine,” said Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in response to Ukraine’s move of listing the China Railway Construction Corporation as “war sponsor.”

Beijing urges the Ukrainian side “to immediately correct its mistake and avoid negative consequences,” Wang told reporters in the Chinese capital, according to daily Global Times.

Ukraine’s National Agency for Corruption Prevention Wednesday added the China Railway Construction Corporation to its list of “international sponsors of the war.”

The agency said the Chinese construction company began working in Russia six years ago and opened its office in the country after “Russian aggression in 2014.”

It particularly noted media reports that officials from Moscow and Beijing were discussing plans for the construction of an underwater tunnel that could connect Russia with Crimea.

The China Railway Construction Corporation will be the contractor for the construction of the tunnel under the Kerch Strait, it added.

Russia launched war on Ukraine in February 2022, resulting in deaths and wounds to thousands of people.

Beijing has stopped short of condemning Moscow, it, however, has insisted on respecting territorial integrity of parties involved.