ltlee1
2025-02-23 15:43:41 UTC
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Permalink"China welcomes all efforts dedicated to peace, including the recent
agreement reached by the United States and Russia to start peace talks,"
China's UN ambassador, Fu Cong, told a briefing.
"China hopes all relevant parties and stakeholders involved in the
Ukraine crisis will engage in the peace talks process. As the conflict
has been unfolding on European soil, it is imperative for Europe to work
for peace," he said, seemingly in contrast to the position of Russia,
Beijing's foremost strategic partner.
On Monday before meeting with a US delegation in Saudi Arabia, Russian
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he saw no place for the European
Union at the negotiating table, claiming that the EU had already had
several chances to participate in talks to settle the conflict.
Peace in Europe without the Europeans?
China has stood by Russia since it launched a full-scale invasion of
Ukraine in February 2022, refusing to condemn Russian aggression, while
implicitly providing economic support amid US-led sanctions.
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US turns its back on alliance with Europe
..
Sascha Lohmann and Johannes Thimm from the German Institute for
International and Security Affairs (SWP), told DW that "a fundamental
change in mentality is required" in Europe.
With the US no longer acting as a "natural partner and ally," but as "a
country with partly opposing goals" to the EU, the two experts say
Europe and Germany should "define their own interests and develop
instruments to ensure their ability to act and shape the future, even in
the face of resistance from Washington."
China extends Europe a hand
From across the Eurasian continent, the Middle Kingdom is now extending
its hand to the EU. At the Munich Security Conference, China's Foreign
Minister Wang Yi spoke after the US Vice President's appearance and
quickly positioned China as filling a void left by Washington's turn
towards isolationism.
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China's doublespeak
Political scientist Stephan Bierling from the University of Regensburg
told DW Wang's statements were "two-faced."
China is talking about a multipolar world, but what it means is having
the freedom to secure its own zone of influence, Bierling said, adding
that China presents itself as a representative of the rules-based world
order, but violates this order more often than anyone else.
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Divide and conquer?
China will try to divide liberal democracies in the Western world,
believes Asia expert Angela Stanzel from the SWP.
"Should there be a transatlantic rift because the Trump administration
drastically reduces support for Ukraine, for example, Beijing would
immediately see this as an opportunity to push European states towards
strategic autonomy," Stanzel wrote in a recent study with co-author
Jonathan Michel.
"From the Chinese perspective, the aim would be for Europe to distance
itself from the US to a greater extent and improve its relations with
China," the wrote.
"https://www.dw.com/en/why-china-wants-eu-to-be-involved-in-ukraine-peace-talks/a-71700633