On his way to Moscow, the Chinese president tried to cast Beijing as a peacemaker after more than a year of war.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will arrive in Moscow later on Monday for talks, called for a “reasonable way” from the crisis in Ukraine but acknowledged that it would not be easy to reach a solution.
Writing in the Russian newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, a daily published by the Russian government, Xi said the discussions could be based on China’s 12-point proposal for a political settlement published last month. .
“The document serves as a key factor in neutralizing the consequences of the crisis and promoting a political settlement,” Xi wrote, according to a Reuters translation of the article. “Complex problems have no simple solutions.”
Xi added that the paper reflects “as much as possible” the views of the global community.
Xi’s visit to Moscow is his first since Putin sent Russian troops to Ukraine in February 2022, where Beijing has positioned itself as a neutral party even as it reaffirms its close ties with the north. neighbor The Chinese president is the first world leader to meet Putin since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him last week.
The presidents of China and Russia met before Putin sent his troops to Ukraine, committing themselves to an “unlimited” partnership. It was unclear whether Xi was aware of Russia’s plan to invade Ukraine, a close trading partner of Beijing.
Xi sought to present China as a global peacemaker, arguing that a way out of the crisis “will be found if everyone is guided by the concept of common, comprehensive, unified and sustainable security, and continue of dialogue and consultation in a fair, wise and pragmatic manner.”
Putin welcomed China’s willingness to play a “strengthening role” in ending the conflict in Ukraine and had “high expectations” for Monday’s talks with Xi.
“We have no doubt that they will give a new impetus to the entire bilateral cooperation,” Putin wrote in an article written for a Chinese newspaper and published by the Kremlin on Sunday.
He said that Sino-Russian relations “are at the highest point”.
China has not condemned the war in Ukraine or called it an invasion although it has criticized international sanctions imposed on Russia and some of its most prominent political and military figures.
Xi may also hold telephone discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his visit to Moscow, according to reports.
Zelenskyy gave qualified support to the peace plan when it was released in February announcing the need to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a rare phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba last week to urge a political solution, saying China worried that the war might get out of control. Qin urged Ukraine to find a political solution with Moscow.
China, he said to Kuleba, “has always supported an objective and fair stance on the issue of Ukraine”.
Instead, Kuleba reiterated the importance of territorial integrity and the key points of Zelenskyy’s peace plan, which include the restoration of Ukraine’s borders, the withdrawal of the Russian military and the cessation of all fight
In Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Xi said his trip to Russia was aimed at strengthening the friendship between the two countries, “an all-encompassing partnership and strategic interaction,” in a world threatened by “those act of hegemony, despotism and bullying”.
“There is no universal model of government and no world order in which the decisive word belongs to one country,” Xi wrote. “Global unity and peace without division and chaos is in the common interest of all mankind.”