Chinese leader Xi Jinping departed Russia on Wednesday, wrapping up a three-day trip that underscored Beijing and Moscow’s desire to reshape the global order against Western power but that offered little concrete progress on China’s pledge to promote peace in the Ukraine conflict.
Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a series of agreements to expand trade and deepen strategic ties. Xi reiterated that China has an “impartial position” on the war in Ukraine. The United States later accused China of “parroting the Russian propaganda.”
China’s 12-point proposal does not address the withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied areas of Ukraine and is vague about key issues such as Ukraine’s sovereignty. U.S. officials say any impending cease-fire would only buy Russian troops more time to regroup and would effectively ratify much of the illegal annexation of large swaths of Ukraine. Xi is expected to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following his return from Moscow, although the timing of those discussions is not confirmed.
Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.
The trip is the latest sign of Xi’s “Global Security Initiative,” a vision the Chinese leader debuted last year of a parallel order to the West. Some analysts believe it marks Beijing’s desire to transition out of the global security architecture that was orchestrated by the United States in the aftermath of World War II.
Naomi Schanen contributed to this report.