As world leaders and top diplomats arrived in Germany for the 55th Munich Security Conference (MSC), the summit's incoming chief Christoph Heusge applauded China for its engagement this year amid such a busy international schedule. 

The German foreign policy veteran, who is set to take over the high-level forum for security policy in 2023, said that amid heightened tensions over Ukraine, it was "a big mistake" that a Russian representative would not be attending this weekend's summit. 

However, the virtual presence of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was "very much appreciated" considering the clash with the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

READ MORE

Confusion reigns in the Ukraine/Russia border crisis

Could antivirals be the key to fighting COVID-19?

Sibling rivalry in the skies for flying world record

"There are a lot of things going on in Beijing, and the foreign minister is very busy, but he is attending," said Heusge, speaking on the first day of the summit on Friday: "China knows how important the Munich Security Conference is.”

This year's annual three-day conference is set to be dominated this year by the Ukraine crisis. However, Heusge stressed many vital topics needed to be addressed, and China's involvement would be critical. 

"So many issues are on the agenda. Not only the conflict in Ukraine, but we have problems from health to the climate crisis. And this can only be resolved if we have global responses," he said.

Referencing both the COVID-19 pandemic and a united response to dangerous global emissions, he said that the international community faced problems "that cannot be resolved just in one country." 

"We have to work together," said Heusge: "I think China and Germany, China and Europe, should be at the forefront of combating climate change."

He added that Beijing's pledge to cut financing for coal power plants abroad was an important decision. "I think that in China, you also have to scale down coal. We do this in Germany. I think we can learn from each other how to do it," said the foreign policy expert.

Meetings at this year's MSC are expected to be particularly tense, as major Western powers doubled down on their warnings on Friday that Moscow could launch an invasion of the former Soviet state. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US Vice President Kamala Harris, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg have flown in to attend the summit alongside a slew of NATO heads of state. 

Last week, the Kremlin announced it would not be sending a delegation, its first no-show to the MSC in years.