FEBRUARY 20, 2023 – Translated from Ukrainian via Google and OFP
The recently announced “peace plan” for Ukraine by China may contain a call for a ceasefire and, at the same time, a halt in the provision of military assistance to the Ukrainian state, which is defending itself from Russian aggression. Beijing, which has already de facto chosen a side in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, is trying to convince the world of its own neutrality.
China’s “peace proposals” have already caused skepticism from the US and Europe, while at the same time there is a risk that they will “push” to action the vacillating UN members, in particular, among the countries of the global South. Bloomberg writes about it .
China intends to announce its “proposals for peace” after it announced its “limitless partnership” with Russia about a year ago. Now Beijing has decided to play the role of a “neutral player” capable of bringing the end of the destructive war in Europe closer.
The Chinese “peace plan”, the newspaper recalls, was announced by Wang Yi, head of the Office of the Commission of the CPC Central Committee for Foreign Affairs of the PRC, during the Munich Security Conference. Soon after that, it became known about the plans of the Chinese diplomat to visit Moscow. This comes amid accusations by the United States in Beijing that China may consider providing military assistance to an aggressor state. This was stated by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, specifying that so far “they have not yet crossed this line.”
Information leaked to the media about a “skirmish” between representatives of China and the United States in Munich, Bloomberg writes, showed the depth of problems in relations between these two states. And the war in Ukraine, both for Beijing and Washington, has become a cornerstone in the formation of global narratives as “war weariness” in the world increases.
“I don’t doubt Beijing’s desire for peace, but at the same time this proposal seems incredible. To be credible, China must be seen as an independent mediator. However, China has clearly chosen a side in this conflict,” said Raffaello Pantucci, senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Defense Research Institute (RUSI) in London.
The fact that China’s President Xi Jinping has never spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine can testify to which side China has chosen in the Russian-Ukrainian war. At the same time, he had at least four conversations with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
In addition, Beijing has also repeatedly tried in one way or another to justify some of the Kremlin’s stated reasons for the invasion, primarily Moscow’s alleged desire to stop NATO’s eastward expansion. Although in these statements, the Chinese authorities emphasized that China, they say, does not support the invasion itself.
“However, in a few months, the price has risen for Beijing. In addition to short-term damage to the global economy, China is also increasingly seen in the US and Europe as a strategic competitor that must be contained, including in its ambitions to establish control over Taiwan. This prospect makes Beijing more vulnerable to comprehensive export controls, investment restrictions and other measures that could hamper long-term growth prospects.
Having announced its “peace plan”, China did not go into its details. Wang Yi only stressed that it will include calls for respect for territorial integrity, protection of nuclear facilities and opposition to the use of biochemical weapons.
Such an announcement immediately aroused some skepticism in Europe, as well as suspicions that Beijing could insist on territorial concessions from Ukraine as a condition for cessation of hostilities.
Thus, German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock immediately stated that the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine should be a condition of any peace deal.
“In a just world, the aggressor cannot be rewarded,” she said.
At the same time, the sources of the publication emphasized that the Chinese peace plan contains calls not only for a ceasefire, but also for stopping military assistance to Ukraine.
European officials familiar with the plan, who asked not to be named, said it was expected to include calls for a ceasefire and a halt to arms supplies to Ukraine. They said the US and its allies think Putin might make similar remarks during speaking time on Tuesday in Moscow, and could potentially propose a draft United Nations resolution exactly one year after February 24 to compete with a resolution backed by Ukraine’s supporters demanding that Russia withdraw troops and cease hostilities.
The fears of the US and its allies in Europe are not the possible success of the Chinese peace plan (which they consider unlikely), but that this proposal could resonate in the countries of the global South and potentially attract votes in the UN. Many countries outside the US and Europe have previously refused to join sanctions against Russia and have called for negotiations and a possible ceasefire. At the same time, past attempts at mediation have failed.
At the same time, the continuation and strengthening of the supply of weapons and ammunition, as well as equipment to Ukraine, is becoming increasingly important. After all, the ammunition stocks of the Ukrainian army are depleted due to intense hostilities.
“For China, the peace proposal helps present Xi Jinping as a global statesman and also shapes the outcome that will help Beijing. Some Chinese conference attendees were surprised at how the US and its allies lump China and Russia together and stressed the need to counter this narrative. “, writes Bloomberg.
Although China has been providing diplomatic support to Putin since the invasion, Chinese diplomats have recently been trying to distance themselves from Moscow in some way, according to the publication. For example, in a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in early January, China’s new foreign minister, Qin Gang, stressed that the two countries’ relations are based on “three nos”: no alliances, no confrontation, and no persecution of any third party.
Wang Yi, who occupies a higher position in the Chinese government than Qin Gang, also made similar statements during a speech in Munich. Even accusing the US of “accusing and even coercing” China’s ties with Russia. He also stressed that China and Russia are not allies and are not going to unite against anyone.
“According to Wang Huiyao, founder of the Center for China Studies and Globalization in Beijing, the focus on the lack of an alliance shows that Beijing is adjusting its policy towards Russia, and this is being ignored in the US and Europe. Zhou Bo, a retired senior colonel who is now is a senior fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University, said “boundless friendship” is just “rhetoric” and should not be taken literally.
“The West was very alarmed by the description of ‘boundless friendship. I’m really surprised why they are so sensitive to this,” Zhou Bo said after a visit to Munich, adding that it is natural for Beijing to develop good relations with neighboring countries.
The publication recalls that the report of the Munich Security Conference this year concluded that Russian aggression against Ukraine shows that democracies must be defended against authoritarian revisionists, while China is mentioned in almost every chapter.
“In a public panel, Yao Yunzhu, a retired Major General of the People’s Liberation Army of China, opposed this characterization. When asked about concerns about the transparency of nuclear weapons in autocratic countries, she rejected this language. “It should not be a “democratic nuclear weapons against authoritarian nuclear weapons,” she said. “Instead, it should be ‘nuclear weapons against us humans’,” writes Bloomberg.
Recall that earlier the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that China should maintain a pragmatic position and not help the aggressor country Russia to wage war against the Ukrainian state. Otherwise, the world may be on the verge of World War III.
Zelensky is counting on official Beijing to listen to his requests. He recalled that China has always fulfilled its obligations. In addition, the peace plan that Ukraine is preparing contains a clause on guarantees from major states, including the United States of America and China, to protect world security.
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You don’t have to go far reading this crap to see right through to bat virus land’s true intentions. Its proposal is pure backstabbing and a poisonous remedy for this war. The chinks are every bit as untrustworthy as their pals in Moscow.
A peace plan coming from the chicoms will be a steaming pile of crap.
This is a horrible imperial power that committed staggeringly evil crimes against the Tibetans, the Hmongs and is now doing the same thing to the Uighurs.
Despite its genocidal practices: upto 80m murders under Mao, Nixon-Kissinger elevated these thugs from a peasant power to a global superpower. Fucking idiots.
Now these same murderous bastards are trying to help putler destroy Ukraine.
Yes, a “peace plan” from a shithole that is world record holder in the number of murdered people!