The Independent: Why is China mediating in the Ukraine war?

The Independent newspaper published an article by Mary Dejewski about China’s mediation in the Ukraine war.

With one year to go since the invasion of Ukraine, and as the United States, Britain and the Europeans prepare for another year of war, China has come up with a peace plan.

She pointed out that despite the Western rejection at the beginning of the Chinese move, the Chinese 12-point card didn’t disappear after a few weeks.

There are reports that it is being looked at least in Paris and Berlin, and perhaps even in Washington.

More importantly, Kiev hadn’t rejected it before, but rather showed what was described as a cautious welcome.

She added that Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Moscow next week, with a remote meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shortly before or after Russia.

She noted that there has been no official contact between Ukraine and Russia, or indeed any known contact even through intermediaries, since the Istanbul talks almost a year ago.

The allegations about the collapse of those talks due to the intervention of then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on instructions from the United States.

The Chinese mediation paper and saw that, in practice, China calls for the resumption of direct dialogue as soon as possible with the aim of ultimately reaching a comprehensive ceasefire.

China’s initiative also appeals to the parties to the conflict and other countries to help create the conditions for this to happen all of which seems like a very difficult task.

It might be worth giving China’s initiative a little more credibility than it has received so far, at least in the West.

This is because, according to the author, with the one-year-old war still seemingly nowhere near resolved, many diverging interests may emerge.

She pointed out that the war presented opportunities to Beijing that it may have remained very distant from, at best.

She added that the war has strengthened China’s energy security and given it a more friendly remote region at a time when it feels its maritime security is under threat from the United States.

It also allowed the Chinese president to parade as the public defender of a non-Western bloc also known as the Global South.

However, if progress is made China’s initiative must be seen as an introduction to a whole new international order.