Home Asia China Supports Trumpโ€™s Russia Deal Effort On Ukraine At G20

China Supports Trumpโ€™s Russia Deal Effort On Ukraine At G20

Analysts believe that China wants to keep a foot in the door of negotiations because it wants to take part in Ukraine's reconstruction.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks to the press following a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at the U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks to the press following a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at the U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

China backed U.S. President Donald Trumpโ€™s efforts to strike a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine during a G20 meeting in South Africa on Thursday, while U.S. allies continued to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Less than a month into his presidency, Trump has upended U.S. policy on the war, scrapping a campaign to isolate Moscow with a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin and talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials that have sidelined Ukraine.

Trump on Wednesday then denounced Zelenskyy as a โ€œdictator,โ€ prompting statements of support for the Ukrainian president from G20 members such as Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom.

โ€œChina supports all efforts conducive to peace (in Ukraine), including the recent consensus reached between the United States and Russia,โ€ Wang Yi told other G20 foreign ministers gathered in Johannesburg, according to a statement from his ministry.

โ€œChina is willing to continue playing a constructive role in the political resolution of the crisis,โ€ he added.

China Happy But Watchful

Wang did not reiterate the point he made at the Munich Security Conference last Friday that all stakeholders in the Russia-Ukraine conflict should participate in any peace talks.

โ€œChina is generally happy to see the easing of relations between the United States and Russia and the shift of the Ukrainian crisis to a political solution, but will pay close attention to the direction of negotiations and the direction of easing of U.S.-Russian relations,โ€ said Cui Hongjian, head of European Union studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

โ€œIf China participates in mediation, it can reduce the risk of the United States using the easing of relations with Russia to harm Chinaโ€™s interests.โ€

He added that Wang Yiโ€™s previous remark that all stakeholders should be included in talks covers not only Ukraine and Europe, but also China and Global South countries.

Global South countries represent developing, emerging or lower-income nations, mostly in the southern hemisphere.


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However, other analysts were skeptical of Chinaโ€™s substantive involvement beyond rhetorical statements at this stage, given Beijingโ€™s aversion to taking geopolitical risks.

โ€œChina is happy not to be called on the spot to deliver because they donโ€™t know what Trump will demand,โ€ said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

โ€œTrump wanted Chinaโ€™s involvement initially but now heโ€™s spoken to Putin. He is under the impression that he doesnโ€™t need China to get a deal with Putin and Putin will give him a perfect and better deal going forward.โ€

Wang said China-Russia relations are โ€œmoving towards a higher level and broader dimensionโ€ during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20. Both men will meet in Moscow soon for their next talks, Lavrov said earlier on Thursday.

China Seeking A Role

Other analysts believe that China wants to keep a foot in the door of negotiations because it wants to take part in Ukraineโ€™s reconstruction.

โ€œChina might turn its attention to discussing a Chinese role in eventual reconstruction and peacekeeping โ€“ something that would give Beijing a significantly more vested interest in European security architecture,โ€ said Ruby Osman, a China expert at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

The Trump administration said on Tuesday it had agreed to hold more talks with Russia on ending the nearly three-year long conflict after a 4-1/2-hour long meeting in Saudi Arabia.

Russia said the talks had been useful, but hardened its demands, notably insisting it would not tolerate the NATO alliance granting membership to Ukraine.

(With inputs from Reuters)