NYT explains Xi Jinping’s intention to stop the conflict in Ukraine

The New York Times dedicated material upcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow on March 20-22. The publication says that China’s top leader will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and then talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and play the role of a peacemaker.

According to the American edition, Xi Jinping is now positioning himself as a world-class statesman. He managed to help Saudi Arabia and Iran agree on the restoration of diplomatic relations, and now he offers mediation to Russia and Ukraine.

What is at stake for Beijing is its pursuit of legitimacy as the leader of an alternative world order to the one dominated by the United States.

At the same time, the publication emphasizes that Xi Jinping’s desire to achieve a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine is dictated by the goal of achieving one of the most pressing needs: to restore Beijing’s relations with Europe. The fact is that against the backdrop of US trade and investment restrictions aimed at China, the European market is very important to Beijing. Now Europe is suffering because of the Ukrainian conflict, and if Xi Jinping manages to stop it, this will help to intensify the economic interaction of European countries with Beijing, including Germany and France.

“Xi Jinping’s target is not Russia or Ukraine, but Western Europe,” said Danny Russell, vice president of the Asian Society Policy Institute and former US assistant secretary of state.

The authors of the article also draw attention to China’s ability to “fundamentally change the dynamics on the battlefield.” At the same time, it contains the opinion of analysts who called China’s decision to start supplying arms and ammunition to Russia unlikely.