Don’t Count on China to Mediate the War in Ukraine | Wall Street Journal
Before White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi met in Rome on Monday, many in the West hoped that Beijing might limit its support for Russia following its invasion of Ukraine or even help end the conflict, having recently talked up its wish to see a cease-fire and its potential interest in a mediating role.
After the seven-hour meeting, the U.S. issued a three-sentence summary noting that the talks were intense and covered a range of concerns including Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the official Chinese media report on the meeting rehearsed China’s standard position on Ukraine. Beijing defended the principles of national sovereignty and territorial integrity and said that while it “did not want to see the current situation in Ukraine,” the international community needed to “identify the real causes and issues from the history of the Ukraine.” This is code for recognizing that Russia has legitimate security concerns arising from the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “China would not tolerate any misinformation and efforts to smear China,” the report continued, presumably referring to U.S. intelligence briefings to the international media warning of Russian requests to China for military equipment.