Explainer | China’s Ukraine peace plan: what does it say and what are its chances of success?

Name: China to send envoy to Ukraine after Xi and Zelensky hold first call since Russian invasion
Uploaded: 2023-04-27T11:17:29.000Z
Duration: 2 min 3 s
Description: China to send envoy to Ukraine after Xi and Zelensky hold first call since Russian invasion

The phone call between presidents Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelensky has put Beijing’s efforts to play the peacemaker back in the spotlight

However, the US and Europe remain sceptical about Beijing’s neutrality and the plan itself has been criticised for a lack of detailed proposals

Reading Time:6 minutes

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China’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of its neighbour has heightened European and American doubts about its neutrality. Photo: AP

Kawala Xie

Published: 7:17pm, 27 Apr 2023Updated: 8:22pm, 27 Apr 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s long-awaited phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky has put Beijing’s peace efforts under the spotlight again.

It released a 12-point plan on February 24 – the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion – after Beijing’s claims to neutrality were repeatedly questioned in the West because of the growing closeness between Moscow and Beijing.

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China to send envoy to Ukraine after Xi and Zelensky hold first call since Russian invasion

However, both Ukraine and its Western backers have urged China to use its influence over Russia to end the war and it is so far the only country so far to propose a plan that both sides have said they will consider.

Here we look at what it says and weigh up its chances of success.

What does the peace plan propose?

The position paper focuses on finding a “political settlement” through talks, an approach it says is the “one and only way” to stop the fighting.

However it does not offer any timeline or road map for the plan.