JRL NEWSWATCH: “Inside China’s Peace Plan for Ukraine” – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
“… China has … releas[ed] a twelve-point document proposing a … political settlement [for the conflict in Ukraine, with] … familiar Chinese talking points …. It repeats Beijing’s support for the UN Charter and the territorial integrity of states, … condemns unilateral sanctions, and criticizes the expansion of U.S.-led military alliances. Those who expected a roadmap to peace … will surely be disappointed[,] [y]et the [Chinese document’s] authors … have no such ambition, and certainly do not intend for Beijing to become deeply embroiled …. The document is sooner a rebuttal to Western allegations that China has been a silent accomplice to Russia, and an attempt to bolster [China’s] image as a responsible world power …. China[] [has] varied and complex interests. Beijing considers itself a champion of the principle of territorial integrity and its primacy over the right to self-determination, being sensitive to not only the issue of Taiwan, but also that of separatist movements within its own borders. Still, its strategic relations with Russia are also of great significance …. [A] scenario in which Russia’s comprehensive defeat in Ukraine precipitates Putin’s ouster and the installation of a pro-Western government in Russia is a strategic nightmare that China is prepared to help the Kremlin avoid. … [Yet] relations with the West are crucial for China’s economic prosperity and technological advancement. … China cannot unconditionally support Russia in its war with Ukraine. …”