Xi-Zelensky dialogue an overview of China's 'pragmatic and opportunistic' strategy

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. He had not reached the president of Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion. AP - Thibault Camus

Text by: Clea Broadhurst Follow

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Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone on Wednesday, April 26, for the first time since the beginning of the invasion of Russia. The Ukrainian president had repeatedly asked to meet the Chinese head of state, especially after his visit to Moscow in March. Since February, Xi Jinping has been promoting a 12-point peace plan for Ukraine, greeted with skepticism by the West, but cautiously by Kiev, which sees it as a sign of China's interest in ending the conflict. Interview with Antoine Bondaz, researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research and China specialist.

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RFI: How should we interpret the dialogue established between Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelensky?

Antoine Bondaz: Above all, we must put what has been announced into perspective. The visit to Europe and Ukraine of the special envoy for Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui, does not mean that China will send a representative for the war in Ukraine, or that it is unprecedented. It is worth remembering the trip of Wang Yi, the chief diplomat, in February and early March to Europe. Li Hui also has a very special profile. He has been special envoy for Eurasian affairs since 2019, after spending ten years as ambassador to Russia.

China, as since the beginning of the war, has a strategy that is pragmatic and opportunistic. It certainly considered that there was more pressure on the European side and that transatlantic cooperation was being strengthened. By agreeing, after 14 months of war, to call Volodymyr Zelensky, Xi Jinping is sending a message to sow doubt among Europeans when it comes to whether China is lost or not.

► Read also: What did Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelensky say on the phone?

The interview was long awaited by Zelensky. Xi finally called him. Is there a desire to create a breach in Sino-Russian relations?

On the Ukrainian side, the goal has always been to have exchanges at the highest level with China, and until now, Xi Jinping refused the outstretched hands of his Ukrainian counterpart. We must also compare the almost dozen exchanges between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, whether meetings, calls or exchanges of letters since the beginning of the war, and this very first telephone conversation between the two leaders.

Kiev's goal may be to try to distance China from Russia, but that seems extremely complicated. It is also possible to confront Beijing with its contradictions, especially when China calls for respect for the sovereignty, the territorial integrity of all countries, but, in fact, refuses to criticize Russia's aggression.

How to analyze all Chinese statements such as "we have always been on the side of peace, we will not sit idly by, we will not add fuel to the fire"?

The Chinese position, it must be read in hollow: it is above all a criticism of the United States and Western countries. It is the United States and European countries that are presented as adding fuel to the fire by delivering weapons. It is the United States that is presented as a factor of instability, because it would refuse peace talks. So we have a China that seeks to present itself as a responsible power in the discourse, especially with non-Western countries. Very clearly, she will use this appeal to try to strengthen these arguments.

But in reality, the Chinese position is not very ambiguous. There is explicit support from Russia, whether diplomatic, political and economic, although, it must be emphasized, because it is very important, there is no military support from China towards Russia.

► Read also: War in Ukraine: Emmanuel Macron calls on Xi Jinping to "bring Russia to reason"

What is to be made of the fact that Ukraine intends to send an ambassador to China?

It is obviously a good thing that Ukraine sends an ambassador to China for a simple reason: China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and it is fundamental that Ukraine and China can exchange. But what will be very important for Ukraine is to see China's behavior. Ukraine is in a strategy that aims to make China face up to its responsibilities, but once again, it is to be hoped that China will change its position, which is far from being the case at the moment.

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