“The situation in Ukraine has once again shown that nations cannot engage in military confrontations” to resolve their disputes. She said so, according to the Global Times, Chinese President Xi Jinping during the expected conversation with US President Joe Biden. This is the first direct confrontation between the two since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A video conference that lasted almost two hours during which the two leaders talked about the war in Ukraine, but also of the not exactly serene relations between their two countries.
The position of China
From the first moments, China has tried to maintain a "neutral" stance if not "ambiguous", not condemning Russian actions, nor imposing sanctions against Moscow. Indeed, in recent days Beijing has criticized NATO's expansion eastward and accused the United States of fueling the conflict. Only on 8 March, two weeks after the outbreak of the conflict, the Chinese president uttered the word "war", calling the situation in Ukraine "worrying" and saying that China "deeply regrets" the war in Europe.
A few days ago the Financial Times he also reported that Russia had asked Beijing for military aid in Ukraine. A news flatly denied by both sides. However, China's ambiguity continues to arouse fears in international observers, according to whom Beijing's position will be decisive in the continuation and eventual termination of the conflict.
The Biden-Xi conversation
During the expected confrontation with President Biden, Xi Jinping allegedly stated that "A conflict is in nobody's interest”, stressing that relations between China and the US cannot reach the stage of confrontation. "The crisis in Ukraine is something we don't want to see," Xi said, quoted by the People's Daily, the Communist Party of China's news outlet. “Events show once again that relations between states cannot reach the point of confrontation. Conflict and confrontation are not in anyone's interest”, said the Chinese president, adding that “peace and security are the most precious treasures of the international community”.
According to the report provided by the People's Daily, Xi Jinping added: "we must lead the development of China-US relations on the right path, but we must also assume our due international responsibilities to carry out efforts for peace and tranquility in the world".
During today's phone call, Joe Biden instead asked Xi Jinping to use his influence to make Russia "put an end to this horrible war“. Bloomberg reported it quoting US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to MSNBC. Washington, Sherman continued, she hopes that China will choose "the right side of history".
Putin confirms: "We will implement our plans"
Shortly before the start of the talks between the leaders of China and the US, Vladimir Putin spoke to the Russians who had flocked to the Luzhniki stadium on the occasion of the celebrations for the eighth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. "We resurrected these territories" of the Crimea and "we know exactly what to do now, how, at whose expense and we will implement all our plans”, said the number one in the Kremlin.
“It is the inhabitants of the Crimea who made the right choice, they put an obstacle to nationalism and Nazism, which continues to exist in the Donbass, with punitive operations against that population. They have been victims of air attacks and it is this we call genocide. Avoiding it is the goal of our military operation,” Putin said. The live broadcast of the speech was then abruptly interrupted due to what the Russian agencies have defined as a "technical failure".
