War in Ukraine, Xi Jinping Acts as Peacemaker Between Putin and Zelensky

Xi Jinping mediator in the all-out war between Russia and Ukraine. China appears willing to assume the role of peace broker in Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal announced Xi Jinping’s willingness to pay a visit to Moscow. The Chinese president, who last Friday was reconfirmed at the helm of the country by the National People’s Congress for a third five-year term, is expected to arrive in Moscow next week. The visit would take place following an invitation that Vladimir Putin would have addressed to his Chinese counterpart during a phone call to congratulate the New Year. Xi would have welcomed the proposal, but Chinese diplomacy has yet to provide a possible date for the meeting. The tsar’s invitation was renewed on Feb. 22 on the occasion of a meeting in the Kremlin between Putin and Wang Yi, China’s head of international strategy, after which rumors spread of a possible visit by the Chinese leader in April. Instead, the visit appears to have been brought forward to next week, and the hypothesis is spreading that Yi’s visit to Moscow was in preparation for Xi’s arrival. A meeting between the leaders of the two superpowers is nothing new (the two have met 39 times since the beginning of Xi Jinping’s first term).

On the other hand, the news, also disclosed by the Wall Street Journal, is surprising that, following his visit to Moscow, the head of government of the dragon should maintain a video call with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as a visit to other European countries. The Chinese diplomacy program would be based on the boost obtained with the signing of the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran signed in Beijing, which sanctioned the diplomatic rapprochement after seven years. This agreement constitutes the first attempt at Chinese political interference in the Middle East, a part of the world where the United States has historically played the role of mediator. Emboldened by this historic outcome, Xi appears poised to turn around China’s diplomatic strategy, whose potential role as a peacemaker in the Ukraine war has many world leaders turning up their noses.