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Actions speak louder: China ups the ante in seeking peace in Ukraine
First Voice
Actions speak louder: China ups the ante in seeking peace in Ukraine

Editor's note: CGTN's First Voice provides instant commentary on breaking stories. The column clarifies emerging issues and better defines the news agenda, offering a Chinese perspective on the latest global events.

On April 26, Chinese President Xi Jinping talked with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over phone. In the talk, Xi stressed that China will not choose to be a bystander of the Ukraine crisis, or "add fuel to the fire," or use the crisis as an opportunity to make profit. He also said that China will send a special representative of the Chinese government on Eurasian affairs to visit Ukraine and other countries to conduct in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

China's record on pushing for peace stretches all the way back to the start of the conflict. Only a day after the crisis started in 2022, Xi called Russian President Vladimir Putin and said that the Chinese side supports solving the issue through negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. On February 24, 2023, the Chinese Foreign Ministry published China's position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, emphasizing that "dialogue and negotiations are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis."

Actions speak louder. By sending the special representative to Ukraine, China is upping its ante in this quest. And for those politicians who doubt China's commitment to peace, this is a reality check on their bluster about China's role in the Ukraine crisis.

It is becoming more widely recognized, even among the allies that the United States is counting on in Europe, that the continuous conflict in Ukraine with the potential to escalate even further and wider is not sustainable, and is in no one's interest. In his recent visit to China, French President Emmanuel Macron commended China's important role in the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and that France hopes to increase communication and make joint efforts with China toward peace.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron jointly meet the Chinese and foreign press after their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 6, 2023. /Xinhua
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron jointly meet the Chinese and foreign press after their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 6, 2023. /Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron jointly meet the Chinese and foreign press after their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 6, 2023. /Xinhua

This should be the wake-up call to the United States and American politicians who believe in achieving a military victory on the battlefield. Since the crisis started, the world was engulfed by its detrimental effects: Supply chains were disrupted; Energy price spiked; Food crisis forced people into hunger; and the global order that was already shaken after years of unilateralism has been strained even further. China, India and many others that have refused to choose sides and inflame the tension further, have come under constant threats of sanctions by the United States.

America should've already known this. Over the last year, America's inflation has seen surging to a near four decades high. According to a Gallup poll released on April 6, 2023, inflation and the economy remain the top concerns for Americans with six in 10 expressing "a great deal of concern."

In the meantime, the United States government has spent lavishly on ramping up the military tension. Based on Council on Foreign Relations' article in February, 2023, more than 60 percent of the supplies the United States sent to Ukraine over the course of last year was on military assistance, mounting to a whopping $46.6 billion. Weapons and equipment accounted for 31 percent of America's total assistance. Despite the fact that many of the promised assistance would be materialized until later dates, the U.S. kept pushing through one package after another to show its support.

Such hotheaded, bellicose stance can't be allowed to continue further. There's no winner in the continuation of this conflict. Even as the United States dreams about its "victory," the Ukrainians will have to pay the price with a shattered country.

As Xi remarked to Zelenskyy over the phone, dialogue and negotiations are the only viable way out for the Ukraine crisis. He said that it is important to seize the opportunity and build up favorable conditions for the political settlement of the crisis.

And that "favorable condition" can't stand a gun-happy United States lashing out all the time.

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