On September 15, 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping took a group photo with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization leaders in Uzbekistan. (Alexandr Demyanchuk/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
[The Epoch Times, February 21, 2023](Reported by Epoch Times reporter Wang Xiang) Some media quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Beijing is re-evaluating the Russia-Ukraine war and tends to push for a ceasefire to prevent Russia from a greater defeat. However, Beijing’s move has been questioned by Western countries.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday (February 20) that people close to the Chinese Communist Party’s decision-makers revealed that Ukraine’s staunch resistance on the battlefield has prompted Beijing to reconsider, preferring to push for a ceasefire to prevent further setbacks for Russia – or even worse. Massive failure.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has no intention of seeing Russia and Putin weakened by the war, people familiar with the matter said.
The push for China to take a more active role in trying to defuse the crisis has gained prominence in Beijing recently, with Russia remaining mired in the quagmire despite deploying almost all of its ground troops to Ukraine.
Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said at the Munich Security Conference on the 17-19 that Beijing will announce the details of a peace initiative on the 24th. The 24th coincides with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Wang Yi started his visit to Russia on the 20th. He may meet with Putin and discuss China’s views on resolving the Ukraine crisis.
US President Biden also made a surprise visit to Ukraine on the 20th and announced that Ukraine would provide another US$500 million in aid.
It is reported that the United States and China are avoiding measures that may escalate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The CCP denies supporting Russia’s war activities and says Chinese companies are conducting normal trade with Russia. The Biden administration has also been worried that if it provides Ukraine with long-range weapons that may reach Russia, it will increase the risk of direct confrontation between the United States and Russia.
The longer the Russia-Ukraine war drags on, the greater the risk of escalation
Huari said that Beijing’s new move to push for a truce shows a new change in Xi Jinping’s view of what role the CCP should play in the Russia-Ukraine war. He has sought to play a more prominent role in his past attempts to cast Beijing as a neutral party in the conflict while rejecting Western calls for Beijing to condemn the Russian aggression.
A January policy report by the Rand Corporation, a Washington think tank, titled “How to Avoid a Protracted War,” has drawn the attention of many foreign policy pundits in Beijing, according to people close to the party’s decision-making ranks. The report noted that the longer the war in Ukraine drags on, the greater the risk of escalation, which could bring Russia into direct conflict with NATO.
Some Communist Party policy advisers believe that this view may create an opportunity for China to intervene and try to make peace.
Because of the close relationship between China and Russia, Western leaders are skeptical that China can be a credible mediator. In Munich, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg cast doubt on Beijing’s sincerity.
“China has never condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he said. “Beijing has never called it an illegal war.”
U.S. Warns Beijing Against Lethal Weapons Support to Russia
Some Western officials hope Xi can use China’s economic support as leverage to bring Putin to the negotiating table. So far, Xi has shown little sign of willingness to pressure Putin, although he recently told other world leaders that he opposes the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, where Putin has previously threatened to use them.
Some analysts in the United States and elsewhere also wonder whether Beijing’s peacemaking program and warnings against Russia’s use of nuclear weapons are an attempt to disguise China’s tacit support for Russia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned over the weekend that the US government has received information that Beijing is considering supplying Russia with lethal weapons.
Such a move would fuel Western discontent with Xi Jinping. “I think Beijing understands the risks of starting to provide this type of support to Russia,” Blinken said in Turkey on Monday.
China’s foreign ministry on Monday rejected the U.S. accusation. “The U.S. is not qualified to issue orders to China. We also never accept the U.S. dictating or even coercing China-Russia relations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a news conference.
Responsible Editor: Ye Ziwei#