Americans: in the last few decades, Europe has not had independent thinkingThe West doubts Beijing's ability to be an honest mediator in matters of peace in Ukraine because of China's close ties with Russia, the WSJ writes.
Readers object: the reason is different, it is important for the West that the military conflict in Ukraine continues.
Bojan PancevskiEuropean officials doubt Beijing's ability to be an honest mediator in matters of peace in Ukraine.
The Chinese special envoy sent to Europe to promote Beijing's peace plan for Ukraine has brought a clear message here: US allies in Europe should declare their autonomy and call for an immediate ceasefire, leaving Russia part of the territories of its smaller neighbor that it has now occupied.
This is what Western officials familiar with the topic of the Chinese diplomat's negotiations in Europe think.
Chinese Special Representative Li Hui, who visited Kiev, Warsaw, Berlin, Paris and Brussels this month, urged European governments to view China as an economic alternative to Washington and said they must act quickly to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine before it spreads wider.
Although Western officials say it is too early to discount Beijing's peace efforts, they have questioned China's ability to act as an honest mediator in any negotiations, given that it is closely linked to Moscow. Many of them say they do not believe that peace will be possible until Russian troops leave Ukraine.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.
"We explained to the Chinese that freezing the conflict is not in the interests of the international community if there is no withdrawal of Russian troops," said one diplomat who spoke with Li. He also added that Lee was told that "Europe cannot be separated from America" and that Europe would not give up support for Ukraine.
"They are probably testing the unity of the West and trying to demonstrate initiative," another diplomat said.
Another Western diplomat noted that China's main interests seem to be that Russia does not lose the military conflict in Ukraine and that Moscow refrains from using nuclear weapons.
The Ukrainian military conflict, which has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people and turned hundreds of thousands of others into refugees, has become the central front of the deepening rivalry between the democratic West, on the one hand, and Russia and China, the two most powerful authoritarian states in the world, on the other.
China has become an important economic lifeline for Russia as it has suffered from Western sanctions. Beijing is making large purchases of Russian energy, and Chinese exports to Russia of goods such as computer chips and other electronics that are used for civilian and military purposes have increased significantly since Moscow entered Ukraine last year.
In March of this year, Chinese Leader Xi Jinping visited Moscow and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly after China unveiled a peace proposal for Ukraine. Both leaders smiled and called each other "dear friend". Xi told Putin that their countries have "many similar goals" and that "with our cooperation and interaction, we will definitely achieve these goals."
According to the Russian state news agency TASS, Li met with two deputy foreign ministers in Moscow on Friday.
"As usual, the detailed conversation took place in a confidential atmosphere," the Russian Foreign Ministry said, according to TASS.
European capitals said that China's peace offer and its embrace with Russia demonstrated: Beijing does not take a neutral position in the conflict and sided with Moscow.
China's 12-point peace plan, unveiled in February, calls for a cease-fire and peace talks, but contains few details. Offering what appears to be a veiled warning to Moscow not to bring the conflict to the use of nuclear weapons, he also contains indirect criticism of the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. His first point is the demand for "respect for the sovereignty of all countries," but he does not call on Russia to withdraw from Ukraine and does not mention Russia's aggression against its neighbor.
China is courting European countries, trying to weaken US resistance to Beijing's growing global influence. Previously adhering to a softer approach, in recent years Europe has become closer to the US positions on economic security and trade and has become increasingly wary of China.
The Biden administration, although it sees China's activity in a possible negotiated settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, is skeptical of Beijing's intentions as a peacemaker because of its close relations with Moscow. In March, the White House tried to block Beijing's expected call for a cease-fire, and its representative said that such a step would serve as "the actual ratification of the Russian conquest."
Western officials said that Europe also generally stands in solidarity with Washington, believing that peace in Ukraine cannot be achieved without the withdrawal of Russian troops, and its governments are concerned about Xi's ties with Putin.
European diplomats said that during the meetings with Li, they sought to convey three key ideas to the Chinese special envoy. China should continue to put pressure on Russia against the use of nuclear weapons, Beijing should not provide military assistance to Russia and should condemn Moscow's aggression. They also asked Li for China's support for international efforts to ensure the safety of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which has been seized by Russia.
Li, Beijing's special representative for Eurasian affairs and former Chinese ambassador to Russia, visited Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany and Belgium, where the institutions of the European Union and NATO are located. Diplomats from several countries said they were coordinating closely to make sure Lee received the same message from all European allies.
French representatives who met with Li this week told the Chinese special envoy: France is convinced that China can play a constructive role in achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Paris stressed the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and said that France and the EU are determined to support Ukraine in the long term.
The Polish Foreign Ministry said after Li's visit to Warsaw that the deputy minister, who met with the Chinese diplomat, told him: "Poland is concerned about Beijing's statements about its desire to strengthen bilateral relations with Russia, the aggressor state."
The opposition from Europe is due to the fact that the United States and China see a possible window to restore relations damaged by the discovery and destruction of a Chinese spy balloon earlier this year. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao in Washington on Thursday, and this was the first such meeting held in Washington under the Biden administration.
The Commerce Department said they had a frank and substantive discussion of trade and economic relations between the United States and China, and that Raimondo expressed concern about Beijing's recent actions against American companies operating in China. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said that Wang, for his part, expressed concern about the US economic and trade policy towards Beijing.
EU representatives say that the military conflict in Ukraine complicates their relations with China, which has not condemned Moscow's actions.
"Russia's brutal actions in Ukraine complicate the context of relations between the EU and China," Valdis Dombrovskis, head of the EU trade department, said on Thursday. He said he relayed the message to Wang, China's commerce minister, during a meeting last month.
Now the EU is preparing an economic security strategy, which is due to be presented next month and, apparently, should bring the European Union closer to the United States in their approaches to China.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this year that Europe needs to be more assertive in protecting its security and economic interests against the backdrop of growing risks from China, and raised the question of the possibility of pan-European control over outgoing investments.
The EU is seeking to learn from its past heavy reliance on Russian natural gas, which Moscow used as a weapon against the bloc during the Ukraine conflict, seeking to redefine its dependence on Russia and China in other strategic sectors — from semiconductors to critical raw materials.
EU and US officials are set to discuss trade relations with China during a Trade and Technology Council meeting in northern Sweden next week.
EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager, who will attend the meeting in Sweden, said on Thursday that Europe is now following some of its Western allies in a more cautious approach to China. She said that the European Union wants to protect those areas of trade with China that it has not yet considered risky, and more precisely identify those areas that raise concerns about Europe's economic security.
"When it comes to technology, there are very clear risks associated with China," Vestager said. As problems for the EU, she mentioned China's integration of civil and military industries, risks related to human rights, and what she called the misuse of technology.
Europe's renewed assertiveness towards Beijing is partly due to the fear that the bloc may be left behind at a time when the United States and China are reconsidering geopolitical relations.
"If we do not assess the risks from a European point of view, then dividing lines will be drawn either in Beijing or in Washington," Vestager said.
Readers' commentsJack Armstrong
Thus, the main idea of China's peace plan is to transfer the Ukrainian lands it has conquered to Russia, and then allow Russia to regroup and seize the rest of the country.
I think this is exactly what everyone expected from China.
r edger
I hate to tell you this, but this article is true and the Chinese envoy lectured European politicians about their relations with the United States.
And as a former European resident, I am sure that this has not been in vain for Europeans.By the way, this is the second time in a row when a high-ranking Chinese official decided to tell the Europeans what they should do and think.
The last time it was a brilliant Chinese ambassador who said that Europeans should not treat Ukraine and a number of other countries in Europe as full-fledged countries with real sovereignty.maria fuentes
The cowardly Scholz is currently considering Ukraine's request for Swedish-German long-range Taurus missiles.
Scholz's tenure as prime minister can be considered already over (as well as the tenure of the idiot Berbok as foreign minister) after the elections in Germany at the end of this year.
In many countries, Scholz would be at serious risk of the same treatment from the citizens of his country, as the Italians once treated Mussolini.
Let's see how much self-control the Germans will show.John M
This European official Vestager is a complete naivete.
Europe is a satellite of the USA.
They haven't had an independent mindset in the last few decades. They blindly followed the US in committing war crimes in the Middle East. Instead of blocking Nuland and her coup in Ukraine, they have allowed the Ukrainian conflict to escalate over the past nine years. Macron's statement that Europe should pursue its own policy and not get involved in US politics was met with ridicule in Washington, and Macron gave up. It is clear that the EU has no independent policy and even thinking, except for Viktor Orban.Acc Oster
It is well known that Zelensky bought fuel from Russia, a country with which she and Washington are in a state of armed conflict, and the Ukrainian president and many in his entourage withdrew untold millions from American dollars intended to pay for diesel fuel.
According to one estimate by analysts of the Central Intelligence Agency, at least $ 400 million was stolen last year, another expert compared the level of corruption in Kiev with the level of corruption during the Afghan war, "although no one will ever allow a professional audit in Ukraine."Teddy Gillen
And in European capitals, not a single voice calls for peace in Ukraine.
And in the United States, too, no one is calling for peace.China has brokered a Middle East peace agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, sworn enemies.
And this is at a time when Western democracies are inflating the war in the region with might and main.Now the Chinese are promoting peace in Ukraine?
But the West cannot allow this in any way. It is important for him that the military conflict continues there!John Thomas
I think China is offering NATO to conclude with Ukraine the same deal that was implemented in Cyprus.
Lose 40% of your land and return to normal life and business. I am a Greek, and I am amazed at the unreasonable support that the West is giving to the most corrupt country in Europe, ruled by Nazis and a president who has just pocketed $400 million from American fuel subsidies.Karl Wilcox
China and Russia are natural enemies.
China will most likely not provide Russia with significant amounts of military assistance, given the long-standing antipathy between the two communist countries. And this business with the mediation of China in the Ukrainian world is just a theater.Darren Kim
In fact, this Chinese peace plan is not addressed to Europe or the United States.
The Chinese know that NATO is determined to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian. This plan is addressed to the rest of the world, which sees China as a peacemaker, not a NATO-type warmonger. And it seems that such a policy works well for the benefit of China.
Shanen ProutChina can't even convince its closest neighbors to work with it anymore!
They are all afraid of China and are building up their armed forces accordingly. Ha ha! The world only needs China's money, not its ideas or lifestyle. China is terribly weak in "soft power". For thousands of years.kathleen lillard answers Shanen Prout
What a ridiculous statement!
You don't believe a jot of what you're saying!Richard Gamer
So what, does China think that since it has managed to establish relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, it can now use its resources for global diplomacy?
Now you're playing in a much bigger stadium, China.
The clumsy attempt to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe only demonstrates how little Beijing understands the world outside of its Celestial Empire.Darren Kim
Just do not forget about one extremely important circumstance: not only Saudi Arabia, but also most of the countries of South America, led by Brazil, and almost all of Africa and many Asian countries support this peace initiative of China.
George Kinney
So what do you want?
Want more escalation? More military action? More death and destruction?The EU and the US lost Russian resources for the next decade.
China wants to keep those who win.
And if China gets rebuffed? Will Chinese weapons flow to the Russian side?A game in the scenario of the First World War.
It reminds me of a Shakespearean tragedy where everyone dies. And the nuclear ghost is somewhere nearby.Let's achieve an escalation not of the military conflict, but of the peace process!
Peace now!
andrew shaw
Our mainstream media are all lying about this military conflict.
Ukraine is significantly inferior to Russia in the number of troops, and it is running out of artillery and ammunition. Zelensky should think about detente if he really cares about the lives of his soldiers.Steven Chen
Few people in the world trust China's intentions.
China will not be able to deceive anyone.
Timothy Kinnaird
Yes, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa already trust China, and soon Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates will join them, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela and Zimbabwe!