(Singapore 8 May 2023) Some high-ranking US and European officials said that China could help bring Russia to the table, a Wall Street Journal report says.
It also says the US and European officials also believe that Ukraine’s planned spring offensive could pave the way for negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow by the end of the year.
The willingness to encourage negotiations and seek out a role for China in talks represents a shift in Western thinking, which has been highly skeptical of any involvement for Beijing given China’s longstanding support for Moscow.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has publicly expressed cautious optimism that Beijing could help defuse the conflict.
Analysts believe that the approach is based on the belief that neither side has the ability to continue fighting indefinitely, and that Beijing’s willingness to play a role in international peace talks should be tested.
However, they remain uncertain about Russia’s willingness to negotiate a cease-fire under Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In February, China called for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, outlining its plan in a 12-point document, and casting itself as a neutral mediator.
That same month, French President Emmanuel Macron offered in private to his Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky to host a peace conference in Paris to negotiate a cease-fire when Kyiv decides the time is right. Mr. Zelensky said he would only participate if Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping attended.
“China will continue to promote negotiations for peace and make its own efforts for an early cease-fire and restoration of peace,” the Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a statement.
Macron and his officials, as well as other Europeans officials, have since prodded Beijing to play a constructive role in diplomacy.
Those efforts culminated in Xi calling Zelensky in April for the first time since the war began, although officials briefed on the conversation said the call deflated hopes that the Chinese leader would shift away from supporting Russia and contained no clear commitments to uphold Ukraine’s demands.
Before the call, Xi made a high-profile visit in March to the Kremlin, where he expressed support for Putin. Xi reportedly said he will soon dispatch an envoy to Kyiv.
“It is too early to be able to say anything, and we are now waiting for Xi’s representative to arrive in Kyiv,” said a senior member of the Ukrainian government.
Nonetheless, several European officials said key European leaders are now confident that China is eager to remain involved in eventual cease-fire negotiations.
That sentiment was echoed by Mr. Blinken. “In principle, there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said at the Washington Post forum early this month.
