An appeal for peace and a call for a ceasefire - but no criticism of Russia: China's twelve-point plan for Ukraine exposes Beijing's double game.
Munich/Beijing – How hypocritical China's attempt to present itself as a peacemaker for Ukraine would be could already be guessed on Thursday evening.
Even before Beijing presented its "position paper on the political solution to the Ukraine crisis" hours later, the representatives of the People's Republic refused a call from the General Assembly of the United Nations, which called on Russia to withdraw its troops from the occupied country.
Like 32 other countries, China abstained.
On Friday morning, China then published the "position paper" on the Ukraine war that had been awaited for days.
In twelve points, Beijing explains how it views the war in Ukraine and how it can be ended.
However, Beijing's proposals are a long way from a concrete "peace plan" as some had hoped for.
Instead, the document only summarizes positions that have been known for a long time:
respect for the sovereignty of all countries,
Moving away from the Cold War mentality
cessation of hostilities,
resumption of peace talks,
settlement of the humanitarian crisis,
protection of civilians and prisoners of war,
safety of nuclear power plants,
reducing strategic risks,
facilitating grain exports,
ending unilateral sanctions,
stabilization of industrial and supply chains,
Promotion of post-conflict reconstruction.
A Year of Ukraine War: The Origins of the Conflict with Russia
A Year of Ukraine War: The Origins of the Conflict with Russia
China's 12-point plan: no criticism of Russia
Beijing leaves it open how all these points could be implemented in concrete terms.
"Dialogue and negotiations are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis," the text says at one point.
"All efforts that contribute to a peaceful resolution of the crisis must be encouraged and supported." How is that supposed to work if Russia continues to demand that the international community recognize the annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia oblasts and that of Crimea , is completely open.
In any case, Beijing is not demanding a withdrawal of Russian troops.
When Beijing writes that the "sovereignty of all countries" must be respected and the "legitimate security interests of all countries" taken seriously, China apparently wants this to be understood not only in relation to Ukraine, but also to Russia - which, after all, is concerned about the prospect of a Ukrainian one sees NATO accession as a threat to its own sovereignty and thus justifies its attack on Ukraine.
In general, Beijing does not express any direct criticism of the Kremlin in the document, but always addresses both warring parties at the same time - as if it makes no difference who is the aggressor and who is being attacked.
"Conflicts and wars are of no use to anyone," it says succinctly.
"All parties must remain rational and exercise restraint." Not a word that Ukraine has every right to defend itself against the attack by Putin's troops, which violates international law.
In any case, Russia should be able to live well with China's "12-point plan".
China and the Ukraine war: The West is to blame, not Russia
According to the Chinese interpretation, it was not the Russians who were to blame for the escalation in Ukraine, but the USA.
"Since 2014, when the US launched a 'color revolution' in Ukraine, Washington has continued to fuel hostility between Ukraine and Russia, leading to a multitude of conflicts in eastern Ukraine," an anonymous opinion piece said on Friday the state-controlled
Global Times
.
Here, too, not a word of criticism of Russia.
None of this comes as a surprise: since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, Beijing has presented itself as a neutral observer, but has remained undiminished with the Kremlin.
Beijing has not publicly criticized the invasion, nor has it condemned the atrocities committed by Putin's army in Ukraine.
Instead, China's top diplomat Wang Yi recently claimed in Moscow that Russia is working to end the war "through dialogue and negotiations."
On the other hand, he accused the USA at the Munich Security Conference of not wanting “peace talks” at all.
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Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in 2019: Beijing has published a twelve-point plan for the Ukraine war.
© Kremlin Pool via www.imago-images.de
In the Kremlin, where he met Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin, Wang announced greater cooperation with Russia.
Relations between the two countries are "as stable as Mount Taishan," a mountain in east China, Wang said.
China's plan for Ukraine: Russia was well informed
As the Russian news agency Tass reported, the diplomat in Moscow also presented the Chinese approach to solving the "Ukraine conflict".
It can therefore be assumed that the position paper now presented has been agreed with Moscow.
Meanwhile, Kiev said on Wednesday that China had not consulted them.
However, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Wang informed him at the security conference about "key points of the Chinese peace plan".
So far, however, there have been no direct talks between Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
If it is true that China plans to support Russia not only rhetorically, but also with weapons, such a conversation would probably be pretty pointless anyway.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last weekend that he had information that China was considering supplying lethal weapons to Moscow.
On Thursday evening, Der
Spiegel
reported that Russia was apparently negotiating with China about the delivery of kamikaze drones.
If the reports are confirmed, China would finally side with the Kremlin.
List of rubrics: © Kremlin Pool via www.imago-images.de
