A ceasefire and Ukraine’s territorial integrity are not mutually exclusive. The US should stop opposing it

US arguments that China’s peace plan, which includes a call for ceasefire, would ratify Russia’s conquest and give it time to rearm simply don’t hold water
Given the risk of nuclear war, any nation genuinely interested in the well-being of the people of the world should not obstruct a ceasefire

Zhou Xiaoming

Published: 6:15am, 2 Apr 2023

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Amid the fighting in Ukraine, China in February released a 12-point paper outlining its position on a “political settlement” to the war. In what is seen as China’s peace plan, Beijing calls for the respect of the sovereignty of all countries, and opposes unilateral sanctions. It also proposes a ceasefire and a return to negotiations.

China’s peace plan resonates in much of the world. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has criticised the US for not seeking peace, praised the initiative and suggested the world needs more peacemakers, like China. This is typical of the position in the Global South as they look to China to help end a war that has wrought enormous misery in the world.

In Europe, where China’s motives have been questioned, several leaders appear to be seeing value in China’s initiative. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was in Beijing this week to discuss peace prospects. French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently billed China’s peace efforts as “positive”, also plans to confer on the initiative during his planned trip to Beijing next week.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who has rejected Beijing’s peace plan but acknowledged that China has a “constructive role” to play in advancing peace, will join Macron on the trip.

But China’s call for a ceasefire has met fierce opposition from the Biden administration. The White House called it “unacceptable” and dismissed it as amounting to the ratification of “Russia’s conquest”, implying that China would disregard Ukraine’s territorial integrity. It was also claimed a ceasefire would give Russia time to rearm against Ukraine.

It is true that China and Russia enjoy close ties. But China’s position on the Ukraine conflict is based on facts and the interests of the people of the world as part of its efforts to build a world community with a shared future. While largely sharing Moscow’s view on the causes of the war, China did not endorse Russia’s “special military operation”.

Instead, China calls for the respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. Contrary to widespread misconception in the West, China maintains that Crimea is part of Ukraine. Official Chinese maps also show Donetsk and the other three regions in eastern Ukraine that voted to join Russia last September as Ukrainian.

China is an avid champion of the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity, in line with the UN Charter. As the only permanent member of the UN Security Council that has yet to unify its territory, it has a more profound appreciation of the issue than many others – particularly the US, whose occupation of northern Syrian territory is seen by the government as a violation of its territorial integrity.

The White House’s professed concern over Moscow buying time through a ceasefire does not seem to hold water either. The US is arguably a better master of the art than anyone else. As Germany’s former chancellor Angela Merkel revealed last December, the US-led Nato used the negotiations and implementation of the 2014 Minsk agreement to prepare Ukraine for a final confrontation with Russia.

And no one would expect the US and its allies to sit on their hands either. Already, Nato members are working at full steam to step up the manufacturing of ammunitions for Ukraine armies. In an arms race between some 30 countries and one, it is not difficult to predict the winner.

A MiG-29 and F-35 planes are parked on a tarmac during a Nato media event at an airbase in Malbork, Poland, on March 21. Poland was the first Nato country to say it would send warplanes to Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

Washington’s quick rejection of China’s peace plan, analysts say, was designed to pre-empt a possible favourable response from Ukraine.

But with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky open to discussing China’s proposals, for Washington to continue to say no would only raise suspicion over US motives. Increasingly, the US rejection of China’s peace plan is seen as a cover for its aspirations to prolong the war, weaken Russia and maintain a firm grip on its allies.

No major wars have ended without the parties sitting down to negotiate. It is reasonable to expect Washington to call time on the Ukraine crisis when it believes it is able to talk from a position of strength. But such a time may never come.

Washington’s goal of gaining an upper hand over Russia in Ukraine, if it is achieved, would not come until many more lives are lost, many more Ukrainians homeless, and more economic ruin in the world.

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Worse, the continuing military conflict might lead to a nuclear war. For this reason, any country genuinely interested in the well-being of the people of the world should in no way try to obstruct a ceasefire.

Washington revels in wars and thrives on them. Former US president Jimmy Carter noted that since America’s founding, there have only been 16 years when it was not at war. Wars have made Uncle Sam strong – at least Washington seems to believe so. This time around, the White House has again chosen war over peace.

When asked “where is your peace proposal?” at a recent press conference, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looked nonplussed. Obsessed with beating Russia on the battlefield, he has probably not given any thought to ending the conflict through diplomacy without further delay.

But in the interests of Ukrainian people and, indeed, of the people of the world, Washington should give peace a chance by dropping its opposition to China’s call for a ceasefire.

Zhou Xiaoming is a senior fellow at the Centre for China and Globalisation in Beijing and a former deputy representative of China’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva