The first attempt was unsuccessful, now China’s top diplomat Li is to travel again to Russia and Ukraine to mediate. Even if China claims to be neutral, observers see it differently.
More than two years after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, China is sending Li Hui to Europe once again. The communist government’s special envoy to Eurasia will work for a “political solution to the Ukraine crisis,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.
Crisis is the preferred word of the state and party leadership to describe the Russian war of aggression. In addition to Ukraine and Russia, Li will also travel to Germany, France and Poland, as well as to the EU in Brussels.
“Two years have passed since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, and the fighting is still dragging on,” says Mao, describing the Chinese view of the situation. “The most urgent thing is to restore peace. The sooner talks begin, the less damage will be done. In the two years we have never stopped advocating for peace and peace talks.”
Federal Government is skeptical
Last year, the communist leadership sent special envoy Li to Europe to mediate in the conflict. However, without tangible results. Likewise, the government’s twelve-point plan for peace negotiations and a ceasefire had no effect. Hardly anyone gave the extremely vaguely worded paper a chance anyway.
Sebastian Fischer, the spokesman for the Foreign Office in Berlin, reacted cautiously on Wednesday to China’s announcement that it would send the special envoy to Europe again.
“It is fundamentally to be welcomed if China makes an effort to stand up for world peace,” he said. “As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, China also bears a special responsibility for this.”
At the same time, the federal government criticizes the fact that “China has not identified Russia’s war of aggression as such – which we very much regret. Because anyone who speaks of peace must also clearly name the war and, above all, clearly name it,” explains Fischer. “That there is aggression against an independent and sovereign state. A war of aggression that is prohibited by the Charter of the United Nations.”
Close connection between Beijing and Moscow
Although China describes itself as neutral in the conflict, most observers see it as a clear supporter of Russia. The Chinese state and party leadership also knows that the government in Moscow is at their side as a strategic partner in the global systemic conflict with the USA. There is increasing high-level exchange between the two autocratically ruled countries.
Last year alone there were 25 Russian visits to China at ministerial level or higher, says Alexander Gabuev, who heads the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center – a think tank based in Berlin.
China benefits economically from the war
“We can already say that the relationship has become closer. The numbers also show that. Trade between China and Russia grew by more than 25 percent last year, to the equivalent of 220 billion euros,” explains Gubaev. Things will probably continue to improve this year. “This is based on similar growth in the first year of the war, 2022.”
The People’s Republic benefits economically from the war in Ukraine. Companies from Europe, the USA and Japan withdrew from the Russian market after the start of the war. China has stepped into this gap and supplies everything Russia needs: cars, smartphones, technology, everyday objects. In return, China primarily buys cheap energy from Russia and thus helps finance the war.
Benjamin Eyssel, ARD Beijing, tagesschau, March 2nd, 2024 7:13 a.m