China Could End the War in Ukraine. It Won’t.
Beijing could give Russia the weapons to win quickly or pressure Vladimir Putin to accept a compromise, but it’s more likely to do neither.
Putin and Xi may be rethinking the wisdom of their embrace.
Photographer: Alexei Druzhinin/AFP/Getty Images
Any hopes that U.S. President Joe Biden might persuade his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to help stop the war in Ukraine should probably be put aside. China wants to see an early end to the conflict. But it won’t use its leverage to bring one about.
Biden and Xi appear to have talked past each other when they spoke on the phone last Friday. In its readout of the call, the White House maintained that Biden focused on Ukraine and warned of consequences for China if it provided Russia “material support.” The Chinese summary, on the other hand, mentioned Ukraine only in passing and highlighted Biden’s commitment to the “one-China” policy and his pledge not to engage in a new cold war with China.