On March 20, Xi Jinping chose Russia as his first foreign trip after his re-election as the president of People Republic of China. The collective West declared the visit as symbolical but is it really?
On March 20, re-elected president of the People Republic of China (PRC) Xi Jinping landed for three days visit in Moscow to meet his close friend President Vladimir Putin, a bold and tactical move amidst the escalating Ukrainian battlefront. Weeks before the Chinese president’s scheduled visit, various speculations and commentaries dominated the mainstream media in the West, particularly in the United States surrounding China-Moscow Summit. Since the beginning of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, China held a strong position for ceasefire and peace urging both sides to negotiate. Two weeks prior to his visit, China proposed a peace plan to end the year-long war in Ukraine, which was rejected and bluffed by the leaders of the collective on the pretext of China’s sympathetic approach towards Moscow.
However, despite criticism and condemnation by the collective West maintained its pragmatic approach toward conflict in Ukraine and called on the United States to stop arming Ukraine to bring a swift end to hostilities. Instead of evaluating China’s peace proposal, the collective West blatantly instigated and persuaded the Politicized International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on the alleged charges of so-called War crimes in Ukraine. According to various International Relations experts, the ICC warrant against the Russian leader was aimed at sabotaging President Xi’s visit to Moscow. Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China, says the ICC arrest warrant for Putin means very little, and won’t deter Xi from visiting.
Since Russia is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, ICC has no jurisdiction over Russia, and any attempt like that means an attack on Russia that could end up in a nuclear catastrophe. Soon after the issue of the baseless arrest warrant, Moscow condemned the illegitimate decision of the symbolical international criminal body. In a press briefing, Maria Zakharova criticized the arrest warrant by saying that “ “Russia is not a participant of the ICC and has no obligations under it. Russia is not cooperating with this body, and possible arrest ‘prescriptions’ coming from the ICC”.
Former Russian President and incumbent Deputy Chairman of the Security Council tweeted “The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin. No need to explain where this paper should be used “. In another tweet, Medvedev warned, “Russia could respond to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against Putin by bombing its building in The Hague.” The arrest warrant for the Russian President on the dictation of the United States and its allies in Europe clearly demonstrates ICC is nothing but merely a political instrument of the Collective West
Day after the ICC arrest warrant, President Vladimir Putin visited Crimea to mark the 8th anniversary of its reunification with Russia and from there he drove off to the liberated city of Mariupol in the reunified Donetsk Republic to inspect the reconstruction work. Putin’s surprise visit to Mariupol was a symbolic message to ICC and its Western backers that Russia cannot be threatened through political blackmailing. The collective west instead of accepting its strategic and diplomatic defeat in its proxy war in Ukraine against Russia is attempting to leverage the international institutions through politicization and belligerence.
The recent baseless and illegitimate ICC arrest warrant against the Russian leader clearly illustrates the partiality of the so-called liberal institutions. The only thing that hinders peace in Ukraine is the West’s self-denial about the ground realities on the battlefront, and to accept massive losses on the Ukrainian side. In the ongoing battle for Bakhmut, the military assessment suggests that Ukraine is losing hundreds of soldiers daily, according to independent experts such as the Former U.S. col. Macgregor the death toll on the Ukrainian side has already surpassed 100,000 soldiers. As the war rages in Bakhmut, Ukrainian president Zelensky despite calls for withdrawal from the U.S. is forcefully pushing his well-trained soldiers into the Bakhmut meat grinder.
Zelensky a former comedian and reality star who has no prior experience in Military and strategic calculation is intentionally continuing the mass slaughter of the Ukrainian soldiers to appease his western overlords. According to Colonel MacGregor’s assessment, Ukraine has already lost its professional army amounting to battlefield losses of up to 400,000. Despite massive casualties, the Biden administration and its European allies continue the military and financial support to the Kyiv regime, which shows their unreadiness and nonseriousness about any possible peace in Ukraine. Now the question is what is the end game in Ukraine? The Russian side has already said the Special Military Operation will continue till all the objectives are achieved but at the same Kremlin is open to peace dialogue if the Collective west stop arming Ukraine.
Weeks prior to his scheduled two-day visit to Moscow, China proposed a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, which was blatantly rejected by the United States and its European allies on the pretext of the so-called “Partiality”. The Chinese proposal is the only way to end the conflict in Ukraine and the proposed plan suggested by China is the logical and best alternative to bring an end to the hostilities. The Chinese peace proposal contains twelve points agenda to pave the way for the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.
The first point of the peace plan calls for respect for the sovereignty of all nations, which is a universal principle according to the UN charter. The Second point calls for the abandonment of the Cold War mindset to avoid the beginning of Cold War 2.0 out of Ukraine. The third point stresses the cessation of hostilities to establish a ceasefire on the battlefront. The fourth point calls for the resumption of peace talks by the warring parties and urges the involved parties to assist in the negotiation process to avoid further escalation.
The fifth point calls for resuming humanitarian operations to end the humanitarian crisis in the most affected areas due to the ongoing war. The sixth point calls for the protection of civilians and POWs in the war zone and respect for human rights. The Seventh point stresses the protection of critical nuclear sites, the point opens like this “China opposes armed attacks against nuclear power plants or other peaceful nuclear facilities, and calls on all parties to comply with international law including the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS) and resolutely avoid man-made nuclear accidents.”
The eighth point stresses for reducing the strategic risks and avoiding escalation that might result in a nuclear confrontation between NATO and Russia. The ninth point stresses on facilitation of grain exports to world and urges parties to resume grain exports no matter what.
The Tenth-point is the most important that urges the parties to refrain from unilateral sanctions. This point states “Unilateral sanctions and maximum pressure cannot solve the issue; they only create new problems. China opposes unilateral sanctions unauthorized by the UN Security Council. The eleventh point calls for safeguarding the industrial and supply chains. This point states “All parties should earnestly maintain the existing world economic system and oppose using the world economy as a tool or weapon for political purposes.” The last point calls for plans to post-conflict reconstruction of Ukraine and urges the international community to pay heed to this matter.
From a logical perspective, China’s peace plan to end the conflict in Ukraine is reasonable and impartial that can serve as the kick-start for the political settlement in Ukraine. The collective West which has been escalating the conflict for their geopolitical interest must consider the Chinese peace proposal and should force the Kyiv regime to hold negotiations with the Russian Federation.
The Chinese peace plan to end the conflict in Ukraine was on the foremost agenda during his visit to Moscow. After a brief negotiation, during a joint statement, President Putin mentioned the Chinese Peace plan and shared his confidence in the proposed plan. The only reason why the collective west is attempting to nullify the Chinese peace plan is due to fear of the rising Chinese global image as a peacemaker.
Days before his visit to Moscow, China brokered a historical deal between the Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after years of boiling relations between the two regional players in the Middle East. China’s efforts to broker peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia were welcomed by the majority of the countries in the world, which praised China’s peace efforts.
However, the collective West was puzzled by the historic peace deal brokered by China, which clearly demonstrates the distorted intentions of the declining West especially the United States, which played a central role in destabilizing the region in the last three decades through illegal invasions.
Without doubt, the western sanctions on Russia amidst the war in Ukraine have served as a critical point for a global shift towards multipolarity. The war in Ukraine brought China and Russia closer than ever across political, economic, and geopolitical spheres. The trade volume between China and Russia reached $200 billion as Russia became the largest supplier of hydrocarbons to China. During Xi’s recent visit to Moscow, the two countries signed contracts worth $165 billion and pledged close cooperation in the fields of nuclear energy and artificial intelligence.
This indeed marks a major geopolitical turning point in the history of international relations. Chinese economic power and Russia’s vast resources will pave the way for a major geopolitical transition on the global stage for the decades to come. President Xi Jinping while leaving the Kremlin after a farewell dinner told Putin “ Change is coming that hasn’t happened in 100 years and we are driving this change together’. The two men clasped hands, smiling. ‘I agree,’ Putin said, briefly bringing up his free hand to hold Xi’s arm. The Chinese leader then added, ‘Please take care, dear friend’. This shows the determination of the two leaders toward the ongoing transition of the world from conflict and unstable Western-led unipolarity toward multipolar World Order.
By Shahzada Rahim