BEIJING - China on Wednesday refuted the US criticism of big countries bullying small countries, saying that what the United States has done to Cuba, Panama and other countries are typical examples of bullying.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on US State Department spokesperson's statement that "the basic tenet that big countries cannot bully small countries" has been violated in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Zhao said that US actions against Cuba, Panama, Grenada, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya have been universally recognized as textbook examples of big countries bullying small countries.

The fundamental way to resolve the Ukraine crisis lies in ceasefire, followed by dialogue and negotiation, rather than "rules-based order" unilaterally defined according to one's own standards, still less coercing others to pick sides, the spokesperson said.

"The world needs peace, not war; it calls for justice, not hegemony; it aspires for cooperation, not confrontation. This is what the vast majority of countries in the world are hoping for," Zhao said.

There is only one system in the world -- the international system with the United Nations at its core, Zhao said. There is only one order -- the international order based on international law. And there is only one set of rules -- the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

"If the United States is sincere about easing the situation in Ukraine, then it should stand on the side of peace and justice as most countries do in the world," Zhao said.