The United States' response to China's latest efforts to promote peace talks between Russia and Ukraine makes clear its determination to turn the ongoing hostilities at the heart of Europe into a protracted conflict.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken even went so far as to allege that China's efforts to promote peace this week were a diplomatic ploy to help Russia, saying that "the world should not be fooled by any tactical move by Russia supported by China, or any other country, to freeze the war on its own terms".

In the same vein, White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby also criticized China, claiming that China's position on the Ukraine issue should not be viewed as impartial.

All such obfuscating rhetoric only adds weight to Kirby's remark admitting that a peace deal would be "unacceptable" to the Joe Biden administration.

The intention of the Biden administration to delay and offset a peaceful resolution to the one-year-old conflict and continue to fuel the war flames in Ukraine is in total disregard of the plight of the Ukrainian people and the lives that are being lost on the battlefield.

China's 12-point proposal for ending the Ukraine crisis, made public on the first anniversary of the war last month, was widely welcomed by the world community, the United Nations and Kyiv included. The US administration's unwarranted finger-pointing at China is both duplicitous and contrary to the global aspiration for a peaceful end to the conflict.

China has all along abided by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter on the Ukraine crisis, and as a responsible country, it is seeking to promote a cease-fire. It is not sitting idle even though it could since it is neither the one that created the Ukraine crisis nor is it a party to the crisis. It adheres to an objective, principled and impartial stance, and is actively encouraging peace talks.

China's efforts to broker peace are in sharp contrast to the US, which has constantly fanned the flames of the conflict and exploited the situation for selfish gains. The remarks by Blinken and Kirby simply serve to highlight that China is now increasingly seen as a capable, trustworthy, impartial and effective peace broker.

Thanks to the devoted ministrations of the Biden administration, the Ukraine crisis is grinding on, causing untold sufferings for people in the country and dire consequences around the world as a result of its spillover effects. The Biden administration should accept that its ideologically driven campaign to suppress Russia is a relic of the Cold War and is abhorred by most of the international community. It does not uphold any of the values that it claims to be acting under the banner of. It is simply the latest meal plan to satisfy the voracious appetite of the US war machine.

It should abandon its selfish calculus and work with others to bring this conflict to an end before it spirals beyond control.