China’s Ukraine stance wins support
Call to promote peace talks, oppose sanctions and proxy war echoed by developing nations
Senior Chinese diplomats followed through last weekend on President Xi Jinping’s latest points on the Ukraine situation, underscoring the acceptance and feasibility of Beijing’s proposals and warning against any attempt to create a similar crisis in the AsiaPacific region.
In his virtual meeting with United States President Joe Biden on March 18, President Xi detailed shortterm priorities for the Ukraine situation, including advancing peace talks and seeking an early cease-fire.
Xi also mapped out long-term tasks such as building — step by step — a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture for the region and the world.
State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that what Xi proposed during the talk is the Chinese solution for resolving the Ukraine crisis.
Beijing’s position is objective, fair and in line with the wishes of most countries, and “time will prove that China’s position is on the right side of history”, Wang told reporters on March 19 in Tunxi, Anhui province.
He reiterated China’s commitment to peace and its objection to war, and said Beijing makes decisions in an independent, self-reliant manner based on the right or wrong of the issues.
China will never accept any external coercion or pressure, and it opposes groundless accusations and suspicions against it, he added.
A number of developing countries echoed China’s stance on topics of common concern — supporting peace talks, addressing the humanitarian crisis and protecting the global economy — as they discussed the Ukraine crisis in diplomatic circles.
Teng Jianqun, a researcher on US studies and disarmament at the China Institute of International Studies, said: “Xi offered a detailed outline for tackling the crisis, which is a promising sign for advancing the region’s stability and world peace. … He reminds the world of the need to do more to cherish hard-won peace.”
Xu Yicong, a researcher at the China Foundation for International Studies and a former Chinese ambassador to Cuba, said: “Washington has been restlessly lobbying; pushing the global community to sanction Moscow to deal a heavy blow to Russia, tighten control on Europe, diminish China, intimidate smaller countries and build on its hegemony.”
Beijing’s cool head in handling the crisis on several fronts — such as through supporting peace talks, humanitarian aid and its citizens’ evacuation from Ukraine — has helped prevent China from being fooled by other parties and makes it a trustworthy partner for collaboration, Xu said.
“China is now one of the few countries that have open lines of communication with all parties directly involved, and even the US itself has approached China for assistance. This shows how important it is to stick to a right solution,” Xu added.
Observers agreed with Beijing’s position, saying it is essential that China and like-minded nations remain calm and encourage an early cease-fire in Ukraine, while opposing unilateral sanctions and warning against a proxy war.
China, alongside a number of nations from Asia, Africa and South America, want to make sure that “give peace a chance” does not end up as an empty slogan, officials and experts said.
Since the outbreak of the crisis, Xi has talked to the leaders of a number of countries separately by telephone or video link and discussed the Ukraine situation.
“The comments and all the diplomatic efforts made by Xi fully display the broad vision and strong sense of duty that a major country should have, and this is exactly what a major country is expected to be doing,” said Su Xiaohui, deputy director of the China Institute of International Studies’ Department of American Studies.
Su highlighted a telephone conversation Xi had with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on March 18.
During their talk, both leaders voiced support for Russia and Ukraine keeping up the momentum of their peace talks, and they agreed that sovereign countries are entitled to independently decide on their own positions.
“In contrast to the bloc confrontation and unilateral sanctions sought by US-led Western countries in the Ukraine crisis, China and many other developing countries hold their own views and positions, comprising a vast ‘middle zone’,” Su said.
As many “middle zone” countries call for the success of a cease-fire via peace talks and offer humanitarian aid instead of weapons, they stand in sharp contrast to attempts by some Western countries to force other nations to take sides, Su said, adding that “the global community is crystal clear about which pattern will be helpful to eventually resolving the crisis”.
On March 2, 35 countries — including Algeria, China, South Africa and Mongolia — abstained from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution on Ukraine.
Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang in a meeting on March 20 that their two countries’ abstention sent a clear signal that they hope to maintain independence and are willing to give peace a chance.
Algeria believes that China’s proposition, based on international fairness and justice and aimed at promoting peace, stability and security, represents a correct and broad path, he said.
Wang told reporters after the meeting that the majority of countries in the world, including China and other developing countries, “share reasonable concerns and hold similar positions”.
No country should be forced to choose sides, and when dealing with complex issues and divergent views, one should not opt for the simplistic approach of “friend or foe” and “black or white”, Wang said.
Xu Yicong, a researcher at the China Foundation for International Studies and a former Chinese ambassador to Cuba, said, “As many countries have discussed the situation and made constructive proposals, their ideas deserve equal opportunity to be known by more people.”
“US-led Western countries should realize that many major emerging economies — such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa — are highly self-reliant in shaping their own strategy,” said Zhu Jiejin, a professor of global governance studies at Fudan University’s School of International Relations and Public Affairs.
“These countries do not easily take sides between the US and Russia in the crisis. They take the world’s bigger picture into consideration and act on their own interests. They know even the so-called unprecedented sanctions will not lead to peace,” Zhu added.
A number of Middle East countries have refused to take sides in the Ukraine situation as well, leading to complaints or concerns from some US officials and policy researchers.
The Washington Institute think tank said in a policy analysis this month that “many nations in the Middle East are keen on balancing their relationships with the United States and Russia”.
Xue Qingguo, a professor of Arab studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, noted that many Gulf nations view the crisis differently from the US and its allies.
“The majority of Middle East countries’ governments and public subscribe to neutrality and not taking sides, and China’s stance on the situation is winning more support there,” Xue said.
Xue noted that in addition to the Middle East, most African, Southeast Asian and South American countries have not followed up on the sanctions pushed by US-led Western countries.
On March 19, Vice-Foreign Minister Le Yucheng called for lessons to be drawn from the Ukraine crisis, urging nations not to become involved in bloc politics, group confrontation or abuse of sanctions.
“The abuse of sanctions will bring catastrophic consequences for the entire world” and “small countries should not be used as pawns” to fight proxy wars, Le warned when delivering a virtual speech at the Fourth International Forum on Security and Strategy.
He called on Asia-Pacific countries to prevent a crisis similar to what happened in Ukraine from happening in the region, urging them not to undermine regional tranquility, interfere in others’ internal affairs, create division and confrontation or “let others decide our future”.
The US-led “Indo-Pacific Strategy” is “as dangerous as the NATO strategy of eastward expansion in Europe”, Le said.
“If allowed to go on unchecked, it would bring unimaginable consequences, and ultimately push the Asia-Pacific over the edge of an abyss.”
Li Haidong, a professor of US studies at China Foreign Affairs University, noted that China-US ties are at a critical phase, and while Beijing opposes defining the ties as competition, Washington’s China policy has been focused on this aspect.
“Such thinking of the US may eventually veer the ties toward a breakdown. What China expects is joining hands with all countries to advance world economic integration,” Li said.
Still, the virtual meeting between Xi and Biden set the tone for identifying areas and issues that both sides should work on, put aside, manage or control, Li said.
“The role of leaders’ diplomacy in navigating China-US ties has served as a cornerstone for keeping the relations stable in the past 50 years, and today its role is still irreplaceable,” he said.