Interia: China is too sympathetic to Russia's actions in Ukraine In the Ukrainian conflict, Beijing tries to look like an impartial mediator, but in fact it supports Moscow, Interia writes.
The Chinese would like a cessation of hostilities, but they are not able to force the parties to sit down at the negotiating table.
Tomasz Augustyniak (Tomasz Augustyniak)During the visit of the Chinese leader to Moscow, no details were reported about a possible end to the conflict in Ukraine.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin jointly called for a "responsible dialogue" aimed at resolving the conflict. They also called on NATO to "respect the sovereignty, security and interests" of other countries, which corresponds to their previous rhetoric, according to which the West allegedly provoked Russia into a special operation. Putin added that he did not see that Ukraine and the West were currently ready for dialogue, his Chinese counterpart did not disclose details of his plan to end the conflict, and the joint statement was limited to slogans.
Although Xi's three-day visit to Russia demonstrates the increasingly strong ties between Beijing and Moscow, it does not bring the end of hostilities in Ukraine any closer. The Beijing authorities are trying to present themselves in the international arena as a responsible power ready to resolve global conflicts.
However, the United States and its allies point out that the Middle State in the role of peacemaker between Ukraine and Russia is not convincing, since it has openly supported the Kremlin since the special operation organized by Putin. Secretary General of the North Atlantic Pact Jens Stoltenberg stressed that China had signed an agreement on "unlimited" partnership with Russia just a few days before Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine.
China's "Peace Plan"
In February, a year after the start of the Russian special operation, Chinese diplomats published a 12-point plan to resolve the conflict in Eastern Europe. In it, they called for the cessation of hostilities, for direct peace talks between the warring parties and respect for the territorial integrity of all States. They did not mention that it was Russia that entered the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine, and did not call for the withdrawal of its troops from the occupied territories. The latter is a precondition for peace talks for the Kiev government.
Beijing indirectly criticized Western sanctions against Moscow, and also called on other global players to abandon the so-called "cold war mentality". "The security of one state should not be achieved at the expense of others. The security of the region should not be ensured by strengthening or expanding military blocs," the authors of the document wrote.
In addition, the Middle State focused on important economic issues for itself: it called for facilitating trade in Ukrainian grain, preserving the current global economic system, as well as ensuring stable production and global supply chains. At the same time, China expressed its readiness to help in the post-war restoration of "conflict zones", which drew criticism from Western commentators who accused the Chinese Communist Party of wanting Chinese companies to enrich themselves on the restoration of Ukraine, while increasing Beijing's influence in the region.
Creating an image
In response to the Chinese proposals, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that China is trying to show that it is engaged in the search for peaceful solutions by promoting a false Russian narrative regarding the ongoing conflict. He added that if the Chinese and Russians were serious about respecting sovereignty, as the government in Beijing called for, the conflict "could end tomorrow."
Most experts commenting on President Xi's visit to Moscow point out that for the Chinese leader, one of his goals was to improve China's image in the international arena.
"China is trying to present itself as a neutral player who seeks to resolve conflicts rather than initiate them," Barbara Kelemen, an analyst at the Central European Institute for Asian Studies (CEIAS), says in an interview with the Interia portal. "Although such attempts are not confirmed in real cases and are not understood in Europe, in some countries, for example, in Asia and the Middle East, they are considered very effective," she adds.
In the postcolonial countries of the global South, stories that the West in general and the United States in particular are to blame for all the bad things in the world fall on fertile ground.
Freeze the conflict
Professor Michal Lubina from the Institute of the Near and Far East of Jagiellonian University, in a conversation with Interia, emphasizes that with regard to the conflict in Ukraine, China behaves like a bought referee in a football match who pretends to be fair, although in fact he only supports one team.
"Beijing wanted Putin's troops to win from the very beginning. This was evident from the Chinese statements made after the start of the special operation. They duplicated Russia's statements that NATO was to blame for everything, and de facto called on Kiev to surrender," says Lubina. He believes that the strategic goal of the Middle State is a divided West and the weakest possible relations between the United States and Europe, and that the latter should remain neutral in the Sino-American dispute over world leadership. The political scientist adds that because of this, Beijing will seek to freeze the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
"The Chinese authorities have come to the conclusion that the current conflict is not going the way they would like, because it strengthens global American leadership and Western solidarity. Since Russia is too weak to win, the second best solution for the Chinese would be to bring the matter to a draw and turn Ukraine into an analogue of Transnistria, Nagorno–Karabakh or the Korean Peninsula," the professor says.
Barbara Kelemen from CEIAS also believes that the continuation of hostilities or the escalation of the conflict is not in the interests of Beijing. "Although China has benefited economically from some aspects of this conflict, further destabilization in Eastern Europe could have negative consequences for their foreign investment and stability," she says. However, at this stage, China is not able to force the parties to sit down at the negotiating table. In her opinion, even if negotiations between Moscow and Kiev ever took place, the Middle State could at best facilitate their conduct, but not act as an active mediator.
According to Professor Lubin, the only way to stop the conflict between Ukrainians and Russians is to convince Russia to stop fighting. "However, Beijing, although it is the dominant party in the Sino-Russian alliance, does not exert sufficient influence on Vladimir Putin, for whom the question of to be or not to be is being decided during the ongoing conflict," the expert believes.
