Xi-Zelensky call one more reason to look into China peace plan
- China will send a special envoy to Ukraine following the one-hour conversation between the two leaders amid growing need to end war with Russia
The world has looked to China to help end the Russia-Ukraine war by using its good offices with both. Beijing floated a peace plan in February.
And President Xi Jinping had not ruled out personally speaking to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky – for the first time since the war began – when the time was right. That time came this week at a critical juncture, with Ukrainian forces expected to launch a major new offensive.
This may only escalate the horrific military and civilian casualties and the economic costs of the conflict to the combatants and the world.
As a result of a nearly hour-long phone conversation between Xi and Zelensky, China will dispatch a special envoy at the head of a delegation to Ukraine and other countries to help conduct “in-depth communication” with all parties involved to “find a political settlement”. Xi told Zelensky, rightly, that talks and negotiations were now the only way out of the crisis.
The latest deal is not a circuit breaker to the killing and destruction. But it is a parallel narrative to the futility of war to settle disputes, such as Russian security concerns about Ukrainian alliances and the tit-for-tat portrayals of China and the West as accomplices of the respective combatants.
The outcome of the phone call between Russia’s special friend and its hated adversary means that China’s proposal to pave the way for peace is the only one on the table from a major power. This is after state leaders, including those from France, Germany, India, Brazil and the European Commission, had talked to both sides.
That said, there is a long way for the parties to go between talking to intermediaries and ending the conflict. Some will say China’s proposal is too vague and lacking in detail.
History suggests otherwise. Peace proposals that finally bear fruit are often frameworks that are light on detail, leaving negotiators room to manoeuvre to bring opposing parties closer together in confidential talks.
In this regard if war fatigue were to set in across Europe, that would be positive for a more pragmatic and nuanced political approach to ending the fighting.
Xi’s talk with Zelensky earns approval from US and EU, as well as some caution
Meanwhile, reaction to the war among the public in Europe is understandably more emotional. Beijing’s continuing friendship with Moscow has, regrettably, made many countries suspicious towards China.
A Chinese peace proposal that is the only one on the table may be an effective counter that will prompt fence-sitting countries to consider whether the US narrative is correct or “coloured”.
It will also, in a sense, help China break its diplomatic isolation by demonstrating it is a responsible global power doing its bit towards finding solutions to global problems.
