economy and politics

Can China act as a peace broker in the war between Russia and Ukraine?

February 26, 2023
6 Min Read
CHINA RUSSIA

Image created by Oiwan Lam


Weeks after Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands and express their friendship “without limits” with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing in early February 2022, Russia launched his infamous invasion of Ukraine. A year later, Russia revealed that Xi Jinping plans a visit to Moscow this spring, in the midst of the first anniversary of the invasion.

Although China has yet to confirm Xi’s meeting with Putin, there have been frequent diplomatic exchanges between Russia and China in recent months. The attention of Chinese observers is focused on whether China can act as a peacemaker and end the war.

The prospects do not look good.

Unverified reports affirm US President Joe Biden submitted a ceasefire proposal to Ukraine and Russia that was rejected by both sides last month, before the US committed to supplying Abrams tanks to Kiev.

Since the beginning of February, the Russian army has taken offensive measures and has launched counterattacks in several cities, including Bakhmut and Vuhledar, in the Donetsk region.

As for Ukraine, a survey showed that citizens want to recapture Crimea, occupied by Russia in 2014:

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited by surprise London, Paris and Brussels to call for more arms support, including fighter jets.

On the eve of Zelensky’s visits, China warned the European Union not to support the Ukraine strike in order to achieve a “complete victory”, an idea vocally supported by many Baltic countries and from Eastern Europe.

A few days later, on February 13, China announced that Wang Yi, the country’s top diplomat, would visit France, Italy, Hungary and Russia from February 14 to 22.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Wang would maintain “in-depth strategic communication” with European political leaders to enhance bilateral relations and mutual trust. One of the key points on the agenda, as reflected in Wang’s meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, was to enhance the “peace talks” between Russia and Ukraine.

China has refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying the country is committed to neutrality and a diplomatic resolution of the war. However, after the outbreak of the war, pro-Russian war propaganda in support of Moscow’s military action flooded major Chinese social media platforms. One example was the claim that Russia was defending itself against aggressive NATO expansion attempts in Europe,

Chinese Narratives: America Takes Advantage of War

While China tries to rebuild their bilateral relations with EU countries, there has been less pro-Russian war propaganda against NATO and Europe on Chinese social media ahead of the anniversary of the invasion. Instead, both in state-funded media outlets like the Global Times and among Chinese social media influencers, the US has been singled out as a pro-war country that has taken advantage of Ukraine and Europe:

A conspiracy theory circulated suggesting that The United States had participated in the sabotage of the Nord Stream I and II gas pipelineskey pipelines carrying gas from Russia to Germany that were attacked on September 26, 2022. Underwater explosions caused a gas leak from the Nord Stream, and initially, US and EU officials believed that Russia was behind the explosion.

Unverified reports affirm US President Joe Biden submitted a ceasefire proposal to Ukraine and Russia that was rejected by both sides last month, before the US committed to supplying Abrams tanks to Kiev.

However, some right-wing groups in the EU and pro-Russian influencers on social media spread the theory that the US was responsible for the destruction of the gas pipelines. These claims have circulated as fact on Chinese social media platforms for months and have been cited as evidence to support the claim that the US would harm the EU out of strategic consideration.

Recently, after 85-year-old award-winning journalist Seymour Hersh endorsed the claim, Chinese state media, including CCTV News, china daily and China’soreign spokesperson, endorsed the theory and demanded a thorough investigation of the incident:

China’s neutrality in question

At the same time, however, China’s “neutrality” has also been called into question, as the country has reportedly provided military assets to the Russian military, despite sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported:

Another example that called into question the Chinese claim to neutrality was the recent naval maneuvers between South Africa, China and Russia. The drill, which began on February 20, will continue for more than a week in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Durban. So much China as South Africa They claimed that the controversial military exercise on the eve of the anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war was to show that they belong to “the BRICS family”: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Human rights activists like Kenneth Roth have also highlighted China’s interest in the ongoing war, as China and Russia have grown closer than ever to their economic ties. thanks to western sanctions against Russia:

So far, China has yet to officially confirm Xi Jinping’s spring meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though the world is closely watching how China will fare on this political tightrope.

Article republished from Global Voices within the framework of an agreement between both parties to share content. Link to the original article:https://globalvoices.org/2023/02/21/can-china-act-as-a-peace-broker-in-the-russian-ukraine-war/

Media activist, researcher and educator based in Hong Kong.





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