China has called for a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine and a return to negotiations as Beijing attempts to position itself as a peacemaker in the conflict on the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
However, western leaders immediately called into question China’s motives, accusing Beijing of having already taken Russia’s side in the war.
The Chinese foreign ministry on Friday released a 12-point paper outlining its position on a “political settlement” to the war, though many of the measures reiterated Beijing’s previous talking points.
Chinese diplomats have engaged in a difficult balancing act over the war, seeking to appear neutral despite Beijing’s close ties to Moscow while blaming Washington and Nato for provoking the conflict.
“Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis,” the foreign ministry said in the document, which did not directly describe it as a war. “All efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be encouraged.”
The heads of Nato and the European Commission said the proposal was tainted by Beijing’s failure to condemn Russia’s invasion.
“We will look at the principles, of course, but we will look at them against the backdrop that China has taken sides,” said Ursula von der Leyen, commission president. “It is not a peace plan.”
Jens Stoltenberg, secretary-general of Nato, said: “China does not have much credibility because they have not been able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Washington was looking at the plan but he stressed that the war “would end tomorrow” if the first point — about respecting sovereignty — was observed by Moscow.
“No one wants peace more than the Ukrainians, and any proposal that can advance peace is something that’s worth looking at,” Blinken said on Friday. “Putin’s flagrant disregard for Ukraine’s sovereignty is what’s at the heart of this. The war could end tomorrow if he simply pulled his troops out.”
Beijing’s plan is also unlikely to receive support in Kyiv until Russia withdraws from territories it has occupied, an issue that was not addressed in the 12-point position paper.
“It was an important signal that China looks like it’s going to participate in [a peace formula]. I don’t know what comes next . . . I want to believe that China is going to side with the idea of peace,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday.
Zhanna Leshchynska, charge d’affaires of Ukraine’s embassy in Beijing, ruled out a ceasefire that would freeze the conflict along the present front line.
Leshchynska told reporters in Beijing on Friday that China should demonstrate its neutrality by pushing Russia to withdraw its troops and increasing engagement with Ukraine.
Shi Yinhong, a professor at Renmin University, said Beijing was probably aware that neither side would heed its proposal. “China feels [it] necessary to repeat its neutrality on the war at this juncture to save some international influence by not only criticising Nato but also distinguishing itself from Russia’s behaviour,” he said.
Wang Yi, China’s top foreign policy official, appeared to make little headway in pushing the proposals when he met Putin on Wednesday.
Beijing’s paper also warned against the use of nuclear weapons in the war and called for Ukraine’s nuclear power plants to be protected. It also demanded a halt to sanctions that have not been authorised by the UN Security Council, a reference to penalties imposed by western nations.
Lily McElwee, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the position paper aimed to convince Europe that Beijing could play a constructive role in the conflict while maintaining its partnership with Russia. A third objective might be to court the “global south” countries, many of which did not share the western view of the war.
“China fears that the international environment is souring for its global aims and it sees the global south as a useful partner,” McElwee said.
The proposal follows claims from the US that China is considering sending arms and other lethal aid to Russia. Stoltenberg said there was no evidence it had yet done so.
Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign minister spokesperson, said China “does not offer any arms deals in any conflict zones or to parties involved in war. What we have been doing is promoting peace talks”.
Hu Xijin, a former editor of nationalist Chinese tabloid Global Times, defended Beijing’s hesitation to provide direct military aid.
China had already provided the “greatest support to Russia’s sanctioned economy” by increasing imports of energy and foodstuffs and maintaining the flow of Chinese “electronics, cars and microprocessors”, Hu said this week. Chinese customs data shows imports from its neighbour climbed 43 per cent last year to $114bn.
Additional reporting by Maiqi Ding and Nian Liu in Beijing
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