The Chinese communist regime’s cease-fire proposal for the Russia-Ukraine war has met with skepticism as the international community questions the regime’s neutrality.
Experts said the regime is using the peace deal to divide the West.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) published “China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis” on the official website of the regime’s foreign affairs ministry on Feb. 24.
The CCP listed 12 points in the statement to call a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine at the one-year anniversary of the war.
Neutrality Questioned
“China doesn’t have much credibility because they have not been able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Estonia on Feb. 24.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen questioned China’s neutrality as it’s been supporting Russia.
“We will look at the principles, of course, but we will look at them against the backdrop that China has taken sides,” she said.
The United Nations General Assembly approved a non-binding resolution demanding Russia immediately end the war and withdraw its troops from Ukraine. The resolution was approved by 141 votes, but China abstained.
Meanwhile, the United States and NATO also warned China not to supply arms to China.
Leverage Against the West
Experts pointed out that China used the ceasefire proposal to show the West that it has the influence to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which the U.S.-led West hasn’t been able to achieve. The purpose is to isolate the United States.China is sending a message to the western countries that “It has a way to make a direct dialogue with Russia now, and can even deliver the peace between Russia and Ukraine which the Western European countries want,” Yeh Yao-yuan, director of the Department of International Studies and Modern Languages and an associate professor at the University of St. Thomas told The Epoch Times.
Combined with the news that Xi may visit Russia soon, “It’s sending a signal to other countries that [the CCP] plays a key role in solving [the] Russia and Ukraine conflict,” Yeh said.
In the context of the increasing tension between China and the United States he said, “To some extent, it uses the peace deal as a weapon and a means of negotiation, [as] leverage to blackmail the Western European countries to let go of sanctions against China and to have closer relations with China, and slowly distance themselves from the United States.”
Michael Clarke, an Australian Defense Studies expert, shares a similar view of Beijing’s diplomatic maneuver, as he wrote in The Interpreter, “an over-estimation of European capitals’ desire to remain at arm’s length from deepening Sino-U.S. rivalry and an under-estimation of the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on European security postures and perceptions.”
Fan Shih-Ping, a professor at the Department of East Asia, National Taiwan Normal University, told The Epoch Times on Feb. 24 that the CCP’s statement has no significance, “because it speaks some empty words and general principles.
“It does not propose a specific plan, such as whether Russia has to compensate or apologize,” he said.
“It says to respect the sovereignty of all countries, but doesn’t the sovereignty of Ukraine need to be respected? It’s vague,” he said.
Edward Huang, a Taiwanese financial expert, told The Epoch Times that “It actually still blames the Russia-Ukraine War on the Western world to some extent, and its arguments are actually very similar to Russia’s, especially in its attacking the United States.”
“It means that the CCP is devoted to supporting Russia to fight this war with China’s national power,” he said.
He added that China-Russia trade is expected to reach more than $200 billion this year, an increase from last year’s $185 billion.
