Li Hui will come to our country with information about the results of his meetings in Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany and Belgium. Perhaps, at this stage, the main objective of the Chinese special envoy’s mission was to gather the opinions of all interested parties. It is clear that so far the countries’ approaches to the Ukrainian settlement are very contradictory. China really wants to get the ball rolling on this crisis. But at the same time, it is clear that a number of states, mainly European, as well as Ukraine, are not interested in at least some kind of peaceful settlement. Their position is absolutely non-negotiable.
In turn, China proceeds from the fact that only the absence of military conflict can give at least a positive result. Everything else will lead to the deterioration of international and trade relations. Li Hui’s opinion is very important here, because he is the only one who really managed to gather a variety of views and should also listen to Russia’s position. It seems to me that the Chinese special representative Li Hui will not make any concrete proposals now. It’s just not his level. Within the framework of the positions expressed by European countries and Ukraine, he will discuss Russia’s approaches. Moscow has repeatedly declared that it is ready to negotiate. But we did not hear exactly the same position from the Ukrainian and European side. In addition, Li Hui had to understand another important point. How independent Ukraine is generally in making such decisions. Because so far we do not see independence in solving the issue of war and peace from Kiev. Perhaps the special envoy of the People’s Republic of China understood something else.
China, of course, is ready for a scenario in which its initiative will not work and will not be accepted, for example, by European countries. Beijing is well aware that the situation is very complicated. But in any case, China will go down in history as the only country to have made real attempts to reconcile the parties. Moreover, these were not statements, but attempts to clarify each other’s positions. Let me remind you that other countries have presented peace proposals. Thus, French President Emmanuel Macron, who is still one of the parties to the conflict, tried to act as a peacekeeper. Additionally, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made peace proposals. Most importantly, a number of African countries have made statements in this regard.
China’s Foreign Ministry said it welcomed any attempt at reconciliation between the parties to the Ukrainian conflict. Many have tried to act as mediators in the negotiation process and to bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table. China acted differently. Beijing understood that this was not a conflict between Ukraine and Russia. It is a much more multilateral conflict. In this regard, the PRC is trying to reconcile all positions, because, for example, among European countries there is no single approach to the situation in Ukraine. Even if we compare the approaches of France and Germany, it is obvious that they differ.
Moreover, it should be understood that Beijing did not analyze all these proposals separately. And the issue here is not just in the calls. Perhaps China is the only country that has real leverage to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. For example, it is about the alignment of the trade balance, the willingness to participate in the reconstruction of Ukrainian facilities after the end of the conflict and to act as an investor. It is unlikely that African countries can offer the same. In addition, it is the PRC’s desire to expand its trade relations with Europe. And hardly any other countries are ready to offer something similar.
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p class=””>It may seem that the Chinese envoy’s trip to European countries is meaningless. We all know that China has recently come under criticism from a number of prominent members of the EU. In fact, Li Hui’s tour of European countries has a deep meaning. China, perhaps even losing in the results of the negotiations, gains in image. Despite everything, Beijing continues to pursue its line towards a peaceful settlement. And everyone sees it. If we look at the responses from some Asian countries, like Singapore, we will see that they, for example, are changing their position. Singapore’s statement boils down to the fact that everyone is wrong in the Ukrainian conflict, and so is the West. And China is a peacemaker.
Officially, this is not the first attempt by China to act in this capacity. Beijing has already tried this role, but without much success. Thus, the PRC tried to reconcile the countries of the Horn of Africa and play a positive role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But these attempts were not systematic, not properly elaborated. China, of course, played a role in bringing Iran and Saudi Arabia closer together. But here, Beijing instead joined the process, which continued even without him. Naturally, China will continue to act as a peacemaker. Beijing has understood that a great country is not only a state with a great economy, but also a country capable of resolving international conflicts. In fact, the United States has long operated as follows. First they created conflicts, then they were resolved. China is gradually beginning to resolve conflicts, but it does not create them. And it is also extremely important to understand what is fundamentally important for the PRC – if now Beijing is able to move the Russian-Ukrainian situation even slightly out of neutral, later it will operate with this thesis during the Taiwan discussion, saying that much can be achieved through negotiations, unlike military actions.
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