IRIA News

China’s foreign ministry released a 12-point position paper on February 24, 2023. The paper urges all the parties to take the path of peace and negotiations in order to end the ongoing crisis.

Despite having close ties with Russia, Beijing maintained a position of neutrality during the conflict. China has called for an immediate ceasefire and truce between Russia and Ukraine. Conflict and war “benefit no one”, China said to coincide with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

The paper asks to remove unilaterally imposed sanctions and emphasizes the importance of establishing humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and steps to ensure the export of grain after disruptions caused global food prices to spike last year. It also calls for an end to the “Cold War mentality”, which is Beijing’s standard term for what it regards as global dominance by the United States and its interference in world matters.

China asked all parties to respect the sovereignty of all countries and stressed that “Universally recognized international law, including the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, must be strictly observed”.

Resumption of Peace Talks

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement, “Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis.”

The statement added that “All efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be encouraged and supported. The international community should stay committed to the right approach of promoting talks for peace, help parties to the conflict open the door to a political settlement as soon as possible, and create conditions and platforms for the resumption of negotiation”. China also vowed to continue to play a constructive role in this regard.

Ceasing Hostilities

The paper stressed all parties to “stay rational and exercise restraint, avoid fanning the flames and aggravating tensions, and prevent the crisis from deteriorating further or even spiraling out of control”. It added that “All parties should support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible, so as to gradually deescalate the situation and ultimately reach a comprehensive ceasefire.”

Resolving Humanitarian Crisis

China also highlighted that “Humanitarian operations should follow the principles of neutrality and impartiality, and humanitarian issues should not be politicized”. The paper stated that the safety of civilians must be effectively protected, and humanitarian corridors should be set up for the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones.

Beijing stressed that “Efforts are needed to increase humanitarian assistance to relevant areas, improve humanitarian conditions, and provide rapid, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access, with a view to preventing a humanitarian crisis on a larger scale. The UN should be supported in playing a coordinating role in channeling humanitarian aid to conflict zones.”

Protecting Nuclear Power Plants

China’s 12-point paper also paid special attention to keeping nuclear power plants safe. It stated that “China opposes armed attacks against nuclear power plants or other peaceful nuclear facilities, and calls on all parties to comply with international law including the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) and resolutely avoid man-made nuclear accidents. China supports the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in playing a constructive role in promoting the safety and security of peaceful nuclear facilities.”

The paper highlighted that “Nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear wars must not be fought. The threat or use of nuclear weapons should be opposed. Nuclear proliferation must be prevented and nuclear crisis avoided. China opposes the research, development and use of chemical and biological weapons by any country under any circumstances.”

Ceasing Unilateral Sanctions

China underscored that unilateral sanctions cannot solve the ongoing crisis and only create new problems. The statement added that China opposes unilateral sanctions unauthorized by the UN Security Council. Relevant countries should stop abusing unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction” against other countries, so as to do their share in deescalating the Ukraine crisis and create conditions for developing countries to grow their economies and better the lives of their people.

Protecting Civilians and POWs

China urged all parties to strictly follow the “international humanitarian law, avoid attacking civilians or civilian facilities, protect women, children, and other victims of the conflict, and respect the basic rights of POWs”. The statement added that Beijing supports the exchange of POWs between the warring parties, and calls on Russia and Ukraine to “create more favorable conditions” for prisoner swaps.

Protecting supply chains

China also urged all parties to “earnestly maintain the existing world economic system and oppose using the world economy as a tool or weapon for political purposes”. Beijing stressed that joint efforts are needed to mitigate the spillovers of the crisis and prevent it from disrupting international cooperation in energy, finance, food trade and transportation and undermining the global economic recovery.

Beijing also stressed the urgency to implement “the Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the UN fully and effectively in a balanced manner, and support the UN in playing an important role in this regard”. The paper added that the cooperation initiative on global food security proposed by China provides a feasible solution to the global food crisis.

Ukraine’s Reaction

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admired China’s stance on the war and welcomed Beijing’s efforts to work toward peace. He said that we need to work together with Beijing to put an end to this war. “China started talking about Ukraine, and that’s not bad,” Zelenskyy said.”

Zelensky said that “It seems to me that there is respect for our territorial integrity and security issues. We need to work with China on this point. Our task is to unite everyone in order to isolate one.” The Ukrainian leader also expressed hopes to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the future.

China’s Diplomatic Efforts

The paper was released days after China’s top diplomat Wang Yi completed his week-long trip to Europe. He met the leaders of France, Germany, and Russia as well as several of his western counterparts. Wang Yi also met with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany. During his meeting with the western leaders and diplomats, Wang Yi stressed on finding a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict.

Soon after the paper was released, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would visit China in April to seek President Xi Jinping’s help in ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

French President announced that he plans to visit China in early April seeking its help in ending the Russia-Ukraine war. He highlighted China’s role in finding a peaceful resolution and said that “China is engaging in peace efforts which is a good thing.” Macron stressed that peace in the region can only be achieved if “Russian aggression was halted, troops withdrawn, and the territorial sovereignty of Ukraine and its people was respected”.

China received an overall positive response from the European leaders for its efforts to achieve regional peace, however, NATO’s Chief Jens Stoltenberg was not particularly impressed by China’s stance. He said that “China doesn’t have much credibility because they have not been able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine.” Stoltenberg told the reporters that Beijing had signed an agreement with Putin days before the invasion, pledging “no limits” to their partnership.

The U.S. leadership has also accused China of considering providing lethal support to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, a claim that Beijing has repeatedly denied. Experts and analysts believe that Beijing’s refusal to openly take sides in the Russia-Ukraine war makes it the only honest broker who can help resolve the conflict.