China issues 12-point peace plan for Ukraine-Russian war

Beijing calls for urgent talks amid reports a Chinese company is in deep negotiations to supply Russia with deadly kamikaze drones.

Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Picture: AFP

China called on Russia and Ukraine to hold talks as soon as possible in a peace plan released amid reports a Chinese company is in advanced negotiations to supply the Russian military with deadly kamikaze drones.

Beijing’s proposal — released Friday on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion — was mostly a collection of talking points used by Chinese officials in the war’s first 12 months, as they have adopted a stance dubbed “pro-Russian neutrality”.

The 12 Chinese proposals were: (1) “Respecting the sovereignty of all countries”; (2) “Abandoning the Cold War mentality”; (3) “Ceasing hostilities”; (4) “Resuming peace talks”; (5) “Resolving the humanitarian crisis”; (6) “Protecting civilians and prisoners of war”; (7) “Keeping nuclear power plants safe”; (8) “Reducing strategic risks”; (9) “Facilitating grain exports”; (10) “Stopping unilateral sanctions”; (11) “Keeping industrial and supply chains stable”; and (12) “Promoting post-conflict reconstruction”.

It was released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry days after Xi Jinping’s top envoy Wang Yi met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, preparing the way for a flagged trip to the Russian capital by China’s leader.

Beijing repeated its opposition to nuclear threats made by President Putin, a stance that has previously earned China praise in Europe. “Nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear wars must not be fought.”

But China also supported Mr Putin’s blame of NATO for instigating the war, as it called for an end to the “Cold War mentality”, a Communist Party-phrase for the US-alliance network.

Speaking hours before the plan was released, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman was much blunter in blaming America.

“The US is the No. 1 warmonger in the world … the US-led NATO is responsible for wars on Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria that killed more than 900,000 and created 37 million refugees. It has also made the Eurasia continent a less stable place,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.

“The impact of US-initiated Quad and AUKUS on Asia-Pacific security and stability also calls for vigilance,” he added.

Canberra called on Beijing to do more to pressure Russia end the war.

“China’s ongoing support for Russia and its illegal invasion of Ukraine contradict its calls for peace and stated commitment to territorial integrity,” a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told The Australian.

“As the Foreign Minister has said, ‘This war, waged by Mr Putin, is an attack on sovereignty and an attack on the UN Charter’.

“Australia looks to China – as a permanent UNSC member and ‘no limits’ partner of Russia – to use its substantial influence with Moscow to bring an end to the catastrophic suffering in Ukraine.

“Australia stands with Ukraine,” the DFAT spokeswoman said in a statement.

Last weekend, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken signalled that Washington had intelligence suggesting China was “considering providing lethal support” to Russia.

A report by Germany’s Der Spiegel said the Russian military was engaged in negotiations with Chinese drone manufacturer Xi’an Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology over the mass production of kamikaze drones. Military experts said the drone was capable of carrying a 35- to 50 kilogram warhead.

China’s Foreign Ministry denied the claims, without addressing the specific allegations. “It is a known fact that NATO countries, including the US, are the biggest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine, yet they keep claiming that China may be supplying weapons to Russia,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday expressed confidence in his country’s victory over invading Russian forces, as the UN marked the eve of the war’s first anniversary by voting overwhelmingly to demand Moscow withdraw.

Chinese party-state media downplayed that UN vote. Cui Heng, an assistant research fellow at the Center for Russian Studies of East China Normal University, told the Global Times the UN had “basically become a political tool of the West to contain China and Russia”.

In Moscow, Mr Putin promised victory as he laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before meeting soldiers in Red Square under blue skies and brisk temperatures.

Russia’s “unbreakable unity is the key to our victory,” said Mr Putin, who has likened his offensive to Moscow’s fight against Nazi Germany in 1941-1945.

Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi met on Wednesday with Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Mr Putin in Moscow where he presented China’s views on approaches to a “political settlement” of the conflict.

Mr Zelensky said Thursday he had not yet seen the Chinese proposal and wanted to meet with Beijing before assessing it.

“I think it is a very good fact in general that China started talking about Ukraine and sent some signals,” he said.

China’s top Foreign Policy advisor, Mr Wang, met with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister last week at the Munich Security Conference, but Mr Xi has declined requests made repeatedly by Mr Zelensky to speak about the war.

In 2022, Mr Xi and Mr Putin — who describe each other as “good friends” — spoke four times, including two in-person meetings.

With AFP