War Ukraine, the Chinese peace plan does not convince the West
There China has proposed a 12-point peace plan in Ukraine that calls for support for talks between Russia and Ukraine and the ceasefire, and reiterates Beijing’s no to the use of nuclear weapons and attacks on nuclear power plants. The plan published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on the first anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (which Beijing does not recognize as such, nor condemn) maintains the positions already expressed by China with respect to the conflict, and appears to be a summa of Chinese thought about the ongoing war. China calls for “maintain rationality and moderation” and reiterates that “dialogue and negotiation are the only practicable way out” of the crisis. The clearest tones are reserved for the opposition of the use of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons (“you cannot fight a nuclear war “).
Beijing calls for respect for the sovereignty of all countries, the abandonment of the Cold War mentality and a stop to “unilateral” sanctions, with a language that provides apparent references to the United States, never mentioned directly in Beijing’s plan, but often singled out officially and in state media as the real “promoters of the crisis”, accused of “throwing fuel on the fire” and to want to profit from the situation. Other points in the Chinese plan concern guarantees for the export of grain and the stability of industrial and supply chains, and finally support for post-war reconstruction.
It is “a good sign”, according to the charge d’affaires of the Ukrainian Embassy in Beijing, Leshchynska Zhanna, who however urges Beijing to convince Moscow to withdraw its troops from the country, and to support Kiev’s efforts. Volodymyr Zelensky said he was interested in the proposal, expressing his desire to meet Xi Jinping. The judgment of the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, was harsh, as he had already shown skepticism in recent days towards Beijing’s proposal announced at the Munich Security Conference. “China does not have much credibility because it has not condemned the illegal invasion of Ukraine”, commented the head of the Atlantic Alliance from Tallinn, while for the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the one proposed by Beijing is not a peace plan, but only some principles, and recalled that China had signed an “unlimited” partnership with Russia just a few weeks before the start of the invasion.
But the US attacks: “China plans to send lethal weapons to Moscow”
But meanwhile the United States “they are very worried” about the possibility that China is sending weapons to Russia but “non-lethal weapons have been sent so far”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this, speaking on the “Good Morning America” program, broadcast on ABC. “We are very worried – he declared, answering the journalist’s question – that they are thinking about it. So far, Chinese companies have provided ‘non-lethal’ support”.
“From day one – he added – President Biden has warned President Xi not to supply Russia with lethal weapons to use against Ukraine. The information we now have is that they are actively thinking about it, which is why we have issued a public warning.”
Asked to go into more detail, Blinken replied: “We have shared information with many other countries – he replied – we must also ensure that we protect the origin of our news. But we thought it was very important to make people understand that China is thinking about it”. “And what they are hearing – she concluded – not only from us but from many other countries in the world is ‘don’t do it, don’t add fuel to the fire'”.
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