Beijing is projecting an image of China as a crisis deal-maker with peace as its priority, as Asian media are reporting this week.
China has been active in recent days, taking the first steps towards seeing talks replace battles. It has turned its attention to Ukraine, Palestine and the main South China Sea flashpoint.
It is not yet a deal broker but it is showing that its interest is in ending wars, or at least easing tensions.
Kyiv’s fear of Trump leads to Beijing talks
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spent four days in China this week. Xinhua, China’s official news agency, reported that China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, said China was committed to promoting a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post quoted Kuleba as saying Ukraine would be ready to negotiate directly with Russia when Moscow entered talks in good faith.
Wang said both Ukraine and Russia had shown, to varying degrees, a willingness to negotiate. “Although the conditions and timing are not yet ripe, we support all efforts that contribute to peace,” he said.
SCMP columnist Alex Lo asked why Kuleba was visiting China now. “The short answer is Donald Trump,” he said. If Trump became president again, he could withdraw American support for Ukraine, sending to Israel weapons once destined for Ukraine.
But if Kamala Harris won the presidency and continued US support, Ukraine would eventually run out of men in a war of attrition.
“Ukraine is staring at disaster one way or another,” Lo wrote. “So it needs to hedge its bets with Beijing.”
Global Times, an official newspaper, also said Trump worried Kyiv. It quoted international affairs academic Cui Heng as saying Trump might force Ukraine to cede sovereignty and territory to reach a quick agreement with Russia.
Ukraine finds it increasingly difficult to sustain a war of attrition, the paper said.
Palestinian unity a ‘first step’ to Gaza ceasefire
China notched up a diplomatic win early in the week when it persuaded rival Palestinian faction leaders to sign an agreement to end their division. Representatives of 14 factions signed the pact – given the grand name of the Beijing Declaration – but the key was getting the signatures of Fatah and Hamas leaders, Mahmoud al-Aloul and Mousa Abu Marzouk.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the agreement was a first step in promoting a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, South China Morning Post reported. The ministry said the deal would eventually lead to Palestine being admitted to the UN and becoming an independent state.
The factions had also agreed to set up an interim national reconciliation government to govern post-war Gaza.
Al Jazeera said the agreement was aimed at maintaining Palestinian control of Gazaafter Israel’s war ends.
Diplomatic observers say Beijing faces challenges in making the deal stick, an SCMP analysis said. The big challenge will be getting Israel on board. Ma Xiaolin, an international relations specialist, said:
“Israel
has not changed its position on Hamas and has rejected Hamas
involvement in the post-war governance of Gaza. Maybe the next step for
China is to send a special envoy to persuade Israel.”
Global Times said the lack of solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict was due to deep divisions among Palestinian factions, making negotiations with Israel difficult.
It quoted Wang Yi as saying resolution of the historical injustice in Gaza required that the principle be upheld of Palestinian-owned, Palestinian-led and Palestinian-ruled.
An opinion piece by Hu Xijin, a senior commentator at Global Times, said China’s goal was to promote peace in the Middle East and to see a Palestinian state established.
“The entire Palestinian nation, including Hamas and Fatah, is in urgent need of unity at this critical juncture,” Hu said.
Singapore’s The Straits Times published a long opinion article that said the deal changes nothing. Hamas would never give up its control of Gaza and neither the US nor Israel would let Hamas be involved in the future government of the territory.
The deal was part of China’s diplomatic strategy of casting Beijing as providing solutions to world conflicts while avoiding any long-term commitments.
But China Daily, another official newspaper, said Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had called the declaration a promising first step in realising the rights of the Palestinian people.
Anwar said international backing was essential for creating lasting peace in Gaza. He urged nations that had not yet recognised an independent Palestinian state to do so.
‘Common understanding’ on South China Sea Dispute
Beijing and Manila have agreed to reduce tensions between their two governments and to manage their differences over the South China Sea.
They have reached a provisional arrangement on resupply missions to a Philippines ship grounded at Second Thomas Shoal, The Straits Times reported. The reef is also known as Ayungin (Philippines) and Ren’ai Jiao (China).
The paper said the two countries had sparred repeatedly at sea over the resupply of a Philippines ship, the Sierra Madre, run aground 25 years ago to mark Manila’s claim to the shoal.
Philippine national security adviser Eduardo Ano said the two governments had come to a common understanding. The agreement, however, would not allow Chinese vessels to inspect Philippines ships.
“Both sides agreed tensions will be reduced… to prevent skirmishes, anything that may lead to injury, harm to soldiers or to anyone,” Ano said.
South China Morning Post said Beijing was trying to suggest Manila had agreed to its demands but Philippine officials vehemently rejected this characterisation.
China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the two side had agreed to manage “differences in maritime issues”. -