BANGKOK– China on Tuesday called on other countries to support its peace plan for Ukraine, following a round of diplomatic talks with Indonesia, Brazil and South Africa in support of its plan.
Envoy Li Hui described the three countries as representatives of the global South and “important forces in promoting world peace” that hold similar positions to China. “They have maintained contact with both Russia and Ukraine and remain committed to a political solution to the crisis through dialogue and negotiations,” said Li, China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs.
China and Brazil published a joint peace plan at the beginning of the year, which envisages a peace conference with Ukraine and Russia and avoids expanding the battlefield. China and Russia were absent from a peace summit in Switzerland in June. Russia was not invited and China decided not to attend.
Initially, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that China had pressured other countries not to take part in the peace summit. But Ukraine now recognizes China’s role in a peace process, given its close relations with Russia. In July, the Ukrainian foreign minister paid a visit to the country, the first since the war began.
While a diplomatic dialogue between Russia and Ukraine seems unattainable so far, the war has shifted.
In August, Ukraine opened a new front in the war by attacking Russia’s Kursk Oblast. This surprise move made it clear that Russia was also vulnerable. Zelensky said the goal was to create a buffer zone to protect Ukraine from attack.
Li noted the incursion and criticized Western support for Ukraine. “All sides are concerned that the West will further relax the conditions for Ukraine to attack Russian territory with weapons,” Li said. “And recent developments on the battlefield confirm these kinds of fears.”
The US and NATO have described China as an enabler of Russia in the war. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said China was supplying equipment, microelectronics and tools “that enable Russia to build missiles, bombs, planes and weapons with which it is attacking Ukraine.”
Just last week, the US extended its sanctions to other Chinese companies that trade with Russia.
