BEIJING (Realist English). Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the need for peace talks on the Ukraine after the French President Emmanuel Macron called on him to “bring Russia to reason.”
But the Chinese leader did not indicate in any way that Beijing would use its influence as a diplomatic partner of the Russian leader Vladimir Putin to achieve a settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.
“China is willing to jointly appeal with France to the international community to remain rational and calm,” was as far as the Chinese leader would go during a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
In no way did Xi Jinping make it clear that Beijing, which had announced “boundless friendship” with Moscow even before the start of the Russian special operation in the Ukraine, changed his position after calling for peace talks in February.
“Peace talks should be resumed as soon as possible, taking into account the reasonable security concerns of all sides with reference to the U.N. Charter … seeking political resolution and constructing a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework,” he added, calling on other governments to avoid steps that could “lead to a deterioration of the crisis situation.” the situation or even get it out of control.”
Beijing, which sees Moscow as a partner in opposing the dominance of the United States in international affairs, remains neutral in the conflict, but at the same time provides diplomatic support to Putin and repeats Russia’s arguments with which it justified the start of the special operation in February 2022.
