(Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that Beijing’s proposal on how to solve the Ukraine crisis reflects global views and seeks to neutralise consequences, but acknowledged that the solutions are not easy.
In an article published at the start of his visit to Moscow – the first by a world leader since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian President Vladimir Putin – Xi also called for “pragmatism” on Ukraine.
The China proposal, a 12-point paper released last month, represents “as much as possible the unity of the world community’s views,” Xi wrote in an article in Rossiiskaya Gazeta, a daily published by the Russian government, according to Reuters’ translation from Russian.
“The document serves as a constructive factor in neutralizing the consequences of the crisis and promoting a political settlement. Complex problems do not have simple solutions.”
Xi has been seeking to present China as a global peace maker and project it as a responsible great power. China has publicly remained neutral in the Ukraine conflict, while criticising Western sanctions against Russia and reaffirming its close ties with Moscow.
The United States and NATO have recently accused China of considering supplying arms to Russia and warned Beijing against such a move. China has dismissed the accusations.
A peaceful resolution to the situation in Ukraine, Xi wrote, would also “ensure the stability of global production and supply chains.”
He called for a “rational way” out of the crisis, which would be “found if everyone is guided by the concept of common, comprehensive, joint and sustainable security, and continue dialogue and consultations in an equal, prudent and pragmatic manner.”
Xi said that his trip to Russia is aimed at strengthening the friendship between the two countries, “an all-encompassing partnership and strategic interaction,” in a world threatened by “acts of hegemony, despotism and bullying.”
“There is no universal model of government and there is no world order where the decisive word belongs to a single country,” Xi wrote. “Global solidarity and peace without splits and upheavals is in the common interests of all mankind.”
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Ronald Popeski in Winnipeg and Nick Starkov in Kyiv; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Christopher Cushing)
