Wang Yi, China’s top foreign policy leader, has criss-crossed Europe in recent days, from Munich to Moscow via Budapest, where he reiterated that the Sino-Russian friendship is “solid as a rock”. The purpose of this tour: to present and defend Beijing’s vision for solving the conflict in Ukraine.
A detailed vision in a Twelve point plan. Nothing new on the horizon, but this document positions China as a player in the face of American power, explains political scientist Valérie Niquet of the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS).
“These twelve points are not revolutionary if you know the Chinese position,” she explains. They always deal with the same topic, namely non-interference and the role of the UN aimed at challenging Western or American supremacy in relation to international standards and the legitimacy of the omnipotence of the United States. This plan also aims to reintroduce a new player, China, and give it prominence, especially in the face of American power. »
“Gradual de-escalation”
Specifically, the first point of the Chinese plan establishes a fundamental principle, namely respect for “the sovereignty of all countries”, and the second point is a call to reject “the cold war mentality”, with the aim of implicitly promoting NATO.
Only on the third point does Chinese diplomacy explicitly address the ongoing conflict, calling on all parties to encourage Russians and Ukrainians to “resume direct dialogue as soon as possible”, with the aim of “gradual de-escalation” and then “a armistice”. “. full fire”.
“I plan to meet Xi Jinping,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy replied. This will be important for global security. China respects territorial integrity and must do everything possible to ensure Russia leaves Ukraine’s territory,” he told a press conference on February 24, adding again, “I want to believe that China is on the side of a just world will is, on our side. »
The Weapons Theme
In recent days, the Beijing-Washington rivalry over the Chinese balloon affair has soared in American skies. And she should move to Kazakhstan, Moscow’s historic ally that refused to support the Russian invasion; The Central Asian country announced its support for the plan proposed by China just days ahead of a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Another sign of the Chinese offensive: Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, Moscow’s main ally, will himself travel to Beijing on an official visit from Tuesday, February 28 to Thursday, March 2, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reports . And this at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.
The weapon question remains. Antony Blinken has been insisting for a week that China is considering supplying arms to Russia, and the interested party denies this. Friday, the German magazine The mirror wrote that Beijing could deliver a hundred drones to Moscow from April. A case to follow.
“Appears acceptable”
Until now, China has always stood out for its neutrality, maintained by its alliance with its Russian neighbor. But for several weeks the communist regime has shown incessant diplomatic activity.
Where China achieves a kind of semi-victory, a small victory on the international stage, is that its plan is spoken of as something that is in existence. Secondly, President Zelenskyy did not react hostile at all. The big victory, or rather the small victory of China, should appear to some extent acceptable for Ukraine, which everyone qualifies as a model of democracy to be supported in terms of values. There we see that President Zelensky does not accept Xi Jinping’s plan without saying anything, but after all, whatever his values, he is not at all hostile to China’s entry into the game.
Valérie Niquet, Strategic Research Foundation (FRS)