China enters talks: Why this will not please Russia? // Uncensored. VIDEO
For the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, China has made public and relatively substantive statements about the format for ending it. The trigger was German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit to Beijing, where he brought a clear message from the EU’s key economy: China must use its influence over Moscow to stop the war. Given Germany’s weight in the European Union and China’s strategic interests in the European direction, Beijing could not stay on the sidelines and outlined its own framework for negotiations.
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The statements came ahead of the announced meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, scheduled for April. China proposed an alternative to U.S.-led mediation of the talks, a format with its own participation and Europe’s mandatory presence at the negotiating table. This directly contradicts the Kremlin’s position, as it is trying to separate Ukraine from the EU in the negotiation process.
In effect, Beijing is signaling to Washington its geopolitical "cards" and its claim to the role of a global-level security player. Against this backdrop, competition between the United States and China is intensifying over control of the negotiating architecture. The Trump administration is publicly articulating deadlines for ending the war, linking them to the domestic political calendar in the United States, including election campaigns and the battle for a majority in Congress.
At the same time, Russia is becoming ever more deeply integrated into China’s economic and technological orbit, which is increasing Moscow’s dependence on Beijing. As a result, Russia’s war against Ukraine is becoming not only a regional conflict, but also an element of a larger game among the United States, China, and Europe over a new configuration of the world order.
