U.S. dismisses China’s Ukraine peace proposal as an attempt to distract

U.S. officials are scoffing at Beijing’s much-anticipated Ukraine peace proposal and urging the world not to get distracted from the imminent threat of China supplying lethal weapons to Russia.

China’s 12-point “Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis,” published Thursday, asserts vague support for “sovereignty,” “ceasing hostilities” and “resuming peace talks,” without specific proposals on achieving those goals.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC News on Friday that it showed China trying to draw the world’s eyes away from its support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“China's been trying to have it both ways — it's on the one hand trying to present itself publicly as neutral and seeking peace, while at the same time it is talking up Russia's false narrative about the war,” Blinken said. “There are 12 points in the Chinese plan. If they were serious about the first one, sovereignty, then this war could end tomorrow.”

Those comments echoed remarks from President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, the day before. “My first reaction to it is that it could stop at point one, which is to respect the sovereignty of all nations … this was a war of choice waged by Putin,” Sullivan told CNN on Thursday.

The proposal itself falls short of what Beijing had promised. China’s top diplomat Wang Yi touted last week that the plan would include “important propositions” from Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping “conducive to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.” Instead it mostly restates Beijing’s existing positions on the war by linking it to the Kremlin’s “legitimate security concerns.”

The timing, however, is significant. The proposal comes after Blinken warned this week that China is considering providing lethal weaponry to Moscow to use against Ukraine.

And world leaders are coming out en masse to counter China’s messaging. Beijing’s peace proposal “doesn't have much credibility because they have not been able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday. The EU would consider China’s proposals “against the backdrop that China has taken sides," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Beijing helped earn that distrust by abstaining from a United Nations’ resolution on Thursday demanding that Russia immediately withdraw from Ukraine.

Beijing’s proposal doesn’t reference Russia as the conflict’s aggressor or demand that Putin stop the war. Instead it calls for Kyiv and Moscow to “exercise restraint” and says it supports “promoting talks for peace.” The Chinese government also distances itself from leading such efforts by limiting its participation to a hands-off “constructive role.”

“The Chinese are running up against the problem that their buddy Russia has a maximalist position [on Ukraine] and is not going to budge,” said Daniel Fried, former assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs and now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. “But instead of pushing the Russians, they're coming up with mush.”

That rhetoric could have impact in other parts of the globe, said Alexander Gabuev, senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center. He argued that the U.S. and European officials lashing out at the proposal may not be its intended audience.

China can now market the plan in the global south as proof of Beijing’s dedication to peace and tell the U.S. and its allies “It’s your job to convince the Ukrainians [to stop fighting] — our mission here is accomplished,” Gabuev said.

The document’s publication means “China gets a PR victory upfront without doing anything,” Gabuev said.