While Joe Biden was visiting Kiev, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi arrived in Moscow to announce a peace initiative. The visit of the Chinese diplomat also has a certain symbolism, because it took place at a time of tension between China and the United States and at a time when Wang Yi assures that relations between Moscow and Beijing are entering a new era.
Against strengthening the consolidation of the Western world around Ukraine, Beijing is beginning to send quite alarming signals. Channel 24 journalist Alexey Pechiy analyzed what lies behind the rapprochement between China and Russia and how far Beijing is ready to go.
China's peace plan: what Wang Yi presented in Munich
At the Munich Security Conference, Wang Yi, Chairman of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said thatChina is developing a peace treaty plan for Russia and Ukraine< /strong>.
The Chinese proposal for a peaceful settlement of the war will emphasize the need to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Such as sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Wang Yi assured that Beijing would “firmly stand on the side of peace and dialogue.” And everything seems to sound logical, especially against the backdrop of the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Wang Yi even said that this war should not continue, and it should be urgently ended.
However, China believes that the legitimate interests of all states in the field of security should be taken into account in the course of conflict settlement. That is,Beijing proposes to take into account Putin's “concern”.
China is trying to drive a wedge between Europe and the US
At the same time, China is frankly trying to drive a wedge between Europe and the United States. Wang Yi, speaking in Munich, frankly says that European politicians should not cooperate with the United States on the issue of Ukraine, because it is supposedly the United States that this war is beneficial.
February 20, while Joe Biden spoke in Kiev about the West's unwavering support for Ukraine,Chinese leader's adviser Wang Yi flew to Moscowwhere he will stay for two days. It is expected that in Moscow he will discuss the issues of the war in Ukraine, as well as the deepening of Chinese-Russian relations.
Against the background of this visit, the scandal caused by the statement of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has not subsided for several days. Blinken is confident thatChina is considering helping Moscow with lethal weapons. And today, before Wang Yi left for Moscow,The Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the Biden administrationin spreading lies and defended China's close partnership with Russia. Beijing noted that it is the United States that is prolonging the war, not China.
This statement is part of a series of diplomatic moves as Chinese leader Xi Jinping tries to maintain ties with dictator Putin, while at the same time viewing Beijing as an impeccable negotiator between Ukraine and Russia. However, it is very likely that Beijing, while proposing a peace plan, is nevertheless trying to benefit from this and get closer to Moscow.
But there is a confusing story. On the one hand, after Anthony Blinken's statement about China's intention to transfer lethal weapons to Russia, US Permanent Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield says that China will cross the “red line” if it approves the decision to provide Russia with lethal military assistance. And this will definitely have consequences for Beijing.
On the other hand, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he personally appealed to the Chinese leadership with a request not to provide any support to Russia in the war against Ukraine. Answering the question whether Chinese weapons are already being delivered to Russia, Zelensky noted that this is not observed today.
According to him, relations with China have always been very good, and he hopes that this will continue . After all, in the event of the unification of China and Russia, the world will face the Third World War. And Beijing should understand this well.
China's entry into the war will change the nature of the conflict
Western media are already reporting that new warnings from US officials that China may be preparing to provide weapons and ammunition to Russia for its war against Ukraine portend the worst since the old Cold War.
Zelensky is right. because China's entry into the war will change the nature of the conflict,turning it into a struggle involving two opposing sides – an authoritarian peace with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea and a democratic peace with Ukraine, the EU, the US and even Japan and South Korea.
The United States prevented the transfer of weapons to Russia
On this occasion, for example, the NYT writes that the United States tried to prevent China from providing military assistance to Russia, partially disclosing intelligence data, which, of course, influenced the perception of China in the world. And this forced Beijing to be more careful.
For example, back in March 2022, US officials told reporters that Russia had asked China for military assistance. The disclosure came just before White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan was scheduled to meet in Rome with then Chinese foreign policy official Yang Jiechi. And this disclosure put Beijing in an awkward position, because it had to make excuses that it was a lie. Now history can repeat itself.
China is burying itself
At the same time, Beijing is starting to bury itself. Before Wang Yi's visit to Moscow today, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that Beijing is ready to work with the Kremlin to further advance the so-called Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that was announced a year ago in Beijing when dictator Putin flew in to meet Xi Jinping.
However, if you read the Chinese pro-government media, then there the accusations of Beijing's plans to supply weapons to Russia are called an outright provocation. The media claim that the US is simply fabricating these allegations against China to uncover a strategic conspiracy of Chinese support for Russia that allegedly does not exist, and by touting threats from Beijing and Moscow, to further unite the West and strengthen transatlantic allies. It is this opinion that dominates in the Chinese media.
At the same time, the Chinese edition of the Global Times is trying to show Biden's visit to Kiev today as something that will not help Ukraine win, but rather will only provoke even greater Russian aggression. And in general, the publication writes that Europe, unlike the United States, is already tired of the war, so it should accept China's proposal regarding peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
But that's not all, because the Chinese Foreign Ministry 20 February published a report on how “bad” America is, because it allegedly tries to suppress everyone around. And then the Chinese, as they say, suffered. They argue that “the United States has developed a hegemonic game to create “color revolutions” and unleash wars under the guise of promoting democracy, freedom and human rights.”
So, the question arises – how far China is ready to go against the backdrop of such rhetoric ?
