BEIJING (HRNW) – China’s decision to join international talks in Saudi Arabia this weekend seeking to end Russia’s war in Ukraine signals possible shifts in Beijing’s approach but not a U-turn in its support for Moscow, analysts say.
While Beijing declined to join earlier talks in NATO member Denmark, analysts said it feels far more comfortable joining the effort in Saudi Arabia, even if Russia is not present and Ukraine is pushing its own plan.
China has refused to condemn Moscow for the invasion it launched in February 2022 but has offered its own peace plan, Beijing appears to be confronting some hard realities as the conflict drags on.
“Beijing has been gearing more toward peace efforts but it also knows that a peace initiative led by Beijing is unlikely to be embraced by the West at this point,” said Yun Sun, a director of the China programme at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington.
“Beijing will not want to be absent from other credible peace initiatives that are led by non-Western countries.”
Peace envoy Li Hui was joining senior officials from some 40 countries in Jeddah, China’s foreign ministry said on Friday, for talks that Ukrainian and Western envoys hope will forge key principles for an eventual settlement to end the war.