Editorial | China plan should be seen as starting point for talks to end war
- Peace may be no nearer in Ukraine following proposals discussed by Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, but they point the way forward
Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia this week was his first international trip since being re-elected president for a third term. It came a year after Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared their countries’ friendship had no limits. They held talks against the background of growing geopolitical tension. This includes Russia’s war with Ukraine and retaliatory Western sanctions.
The whole world has been watching to see if the leaders of the two “best friends” could make a difference. Their meetings gave them the opportunity to demonstrate the strength of their relationship. At the bilateral level they met expectations. Xi declared China ready to expand trade, investment and economic cooperation with Russia.
The communique issued at the end of their talks amounted to a comprehensive agreement that covered almost every base. To facilitate it, Xi urged Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to establish a working relationship with newly elected Premier Li Qiang. Putin also welcomed Chinese capital to replace Western investors who quit Russia over the Ukraine conflict.
Globally, however, attention was focused on the Ukraine war. China’s part in restoring diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia prompted speculation that it would play Ukraine peace broker, although the two situations are hardly comparable. Beijing had drafted a Ukraine peace plan and offered to mediate, but the outcome dashed hopes of a breakthrough.
That said, the path to a settlement of a complex political and territorial conflict can be long and winding. Fifty years ago, a series of public and secret negotiations between the Americans and the Vietnamese that finally ended the Vietnam war lasted more than three years. There remains a seemingly unbridgeable gap between the positions of China and Russia on the one hand, and Ukraine, Nato and the United States on the other. Kyiv has yet to be engaged in a peace process, making it difficult for China to advance its plan for a ceasefire, dialogue and negotiations.