On the way to Moscow, China’s president is trying to portray Beijing as a peacemaker after more than a year of war.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is due to arrive in Moscow for talks later Monday, has called for a “rational way” out of the Ukraine crisis but conceded that finding a solution will not be easy.
Speaking to Russian newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, a daily newspaper published by the Russian government, Xi said the discussions could be based on China’s 12-point proposal for a political deal released last month.
“The document serves as a constructive factor in neutralizing the fallout from the crisis and promoting a political solution,” Xi wrote, according to a Portal translation of the article. “Complex problems have no simple solutions.”
Xi added that the paper reflects the views of the world community “as far as possible.”
Xi’s visit to Moscow is his first since Putin sent Russian troops to Ukraine in February 2022, with Beijing posing as a neutral party even after reaffirming its close ties with its northern neighbor. The Chinese president will be the first world leader to meet Putin since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him last week.
Just before Putin sent his troops to Ukraine, the Chinese and Russian presidents met and pledged to a partnership without borders. It is not clear whether Xi knew of Russia’s plan to invade Ukraine, a close trading partner of Beijing.
Xi has tried to portray China as a global peacemaker, arguing that a way out of the crisis could be found “if everyone is guided by the concept of common, comprehensive, common and sustainable security and continues dialogue and consultations on an equal footing.” , prudent and pragmatic”.
Putin has welcomed China’s willingness to play a “constructive role” in ending the conflict in Ukraine and has “high expectations” for Monday’s talks with Xi.
“We have no doubt that they will give a new powerful impetus to all bilateral cooperation,” Putin wrote in an article written for a Chinese newspaper and published by the Kremlin on Sunday.
He said Sino-Russian relations are “at the peak”.
China has not condemned the war in Ukraine or called it an invasion, although it has criticized international sanctions imposed on Russia and some of its most prominent political and military figures.
Xi is also reportedly able to hold phone calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his visit to Moscow.
Zelenskyy qualifiedly supported the peace plan when it was published in February and pointed out that Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be respected.
Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a rare phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba last week to urge a political solution, saying China is concerned the war could spiral out of control. Qin called on Ukraine to seek a political solution with Moscow.
China, he told Kuleba, has “always taken an objective and fair stance on the Ukraine issue.”
Kuleba, in turn, reiterated the importance of territorial integrity and the key points of Zelenskyi’s peace plan, which includes restoring Ukraine’s borders, withdrawing the Russian military and stopping all fighting.
Speaking to Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Xi said his trip to Russia aims to strengthen the friendship between the two countries, “an all-encompassing partnership and strategic interaction” in a world threatened by “acts of hegemony, despotism and bullying.”
“There is no universal model of government and no world order in which a single country has the final say,” Xi wrote. “Global solidarity and peace without divisions and upheavals are in the common interest of all humanity.”