Experts interviewed by the South China Morning Post newspaper explained this by saying that Beijing is a neutral party in the conflictHONG KONG /HONG KONG/, March 28.
/tass/. China's efforts as a mediator in conflicts have not always borne fruit and its role in resolving the situation in Ukraine may be limited. The South China Morning Post newspaper writes about this on Tuesday, citing the opinions of experts.
"Mediation in the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran was a breakthrough that drew attention to China's desire to offer an alternative to the US-dominated world order. But such successes may be difficult to repeat, analysts say, since China's long-term efforts to play the role of a viable mediator in conflicts have not always worked, which weakens the hope that this could contribute to the conclusion of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine," the newspaper writes.
According to Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Washington-based Stimson Center, in recent years China has become more active as a mediator in conflicts, but the only successful deal was the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran. "Saudi Arabia and Iran wanted to improve their relations and have been negotiating for some time. China was in the right place at the right time with the right connections," the expert believes.
The newspaper recalled the efforts that Beijing has made as a peacemaker in recent years. We are talking about the dialogue on Afghanistan last year, the establishment of peace in the Horn of Africa and the appeal to China of armed groups in Myanmar in 2021. Even earlier, there were six-party talks on the DPRK nuclear issue and a peace plan proposed by Beijing for Palestine and Israel in 2013. All this did not lead to any significant results, the publication states. "Many interpreted such efforts as Beijing's desire to enhance its image as a global peacemaker in contrast to the United States," the newspaper writes.
The recent visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia, the publication points out, was regarded as another attempt by China to position itself as a mediator, but there were no new details in the joint statement of the leaders of the two countries that went beyond the Chinese peace plan for Ukraine. According to Wang Yiwei, an expert from the People's University in Beijing, Ukraine and Europe have high hopes for China's influence on Russia. But China, the expert noted, is not a direct participant in the process. "However, China will be the guarantor in case of a truce or a peace agreement," Wang Yiwei believes, adding that China and other permanent members of the UN Security Council will play a role in this process.
Pan Zhongning, professor of international Relations at Sichuan University, also agreed that China's role as a peacemaker in the Ukrainian conflict is limited, the newspaper writes. "China is a neutral party, and being neutral means that your role is very limited," the expert believes.
