Letters | Mediating in Ukraine crisis can bolster China’s global image

Readers discuss China’s ability to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, the need for deft diplomacy at a time of high tensions, and Western meddling over Taiwan

Ukraine war

Letters

Published: 11:30pm, 14 Mar 2022

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China has tried and failed to walk a fine line between supporting Russia and trying to distance itself from the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine. Statements that it supports territorial integrity and sovereignty, including Ukraine’s, have not convinced the world it is playing a constructive role in resolving the conflict.

Sentiment against China is growing in the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea and elsewhere. The decision to remove import restrictions on Russian wheat into China on the day the invasion began and Beijing’s failure to condemn the invasion mystify the world and run counter to the sentiment behind sanctions.

China’s policy has put it on the wrong side of history and will isolate it along with Russia. China is not Russia; it is deeply intertwined with the global economic system.

02:10

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Beyond the humanitarian tragedy, China will suffer economically from this war and lose respect in the international community. Its decades-long effort to project a positive image will be crushed.

I cannot predict the policies that China’s stance will bring about in the US, European Union and other countries, but I know for certain they will be harsh and hurt China’s interests.

These new policies will make the economic decoupling to date seem minor. Policies towards China will be changed because China has shown it is not a constructive member of the international community.

However, China can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It is uniquely positioned to mediate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. President Xi Jinping has a strong relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and should use that to help end this tragedy. Xi can designate Foreign Minister Wang Yi to go to Moscow and Kyiv to begin discussions.

US-China relations: Ukraine casts long shadow over Yang-Sullivan talks

As civilian deaths mount and the humanitarian crisis expands, this effort should begin immediately. Time is not on China’s side.

If the mediation succeeds, the world will credit China with being the responsible stakeholder we always hoped it would be. It would reignite the discussion of what America’s and the West’s policies towards China should be.

Even if the effort fails, China will earn praise for trying and arrest the downward spiral in its relations with the US and the rest of the world. China is at a crossroads. I hope it chooses the right path.

Stephen A. Orlins, president, National Committee on US-China Relations

West must not overplay hand on sanctions

In some ways, the current global international tensions carry echoes of World War II with their European and Indo-Pacific dimensions.

While the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is strongly reminiscent of the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and Ukraine in 1941, the current wider tension between the West and China is eerily reminiscent of that between the West and Japan in the early 1940s.

Current global leaders must learn the lessons of history from this. Arguably, it was bad diplomacy focused on a crippling trade embargo of Japan that triggered the attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941.

The lesson here is that the West must carefully calibrate the pressure it places on Russia and China, lest it overplay its hand and make a dire situation even worse.

A local woman carries out a cat as she leaves her destroyed home after shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

So far, US President Joe Biden is exercising cautious yet firm diplomacy with Russia and China. His sending of a delegation of former top defence officials to Taiwan in a show of support for Taipei despite the distraction of the Ukraine crisis is an example of this (“Taiwan hails arrival of US delegation as sign of ‘bipartisan consensus’”, March 1).

At present, the US pressure on China does seem rational and proportionate given the circumstances.

But there is an open question whether the strong, US-led economic pressure on Russia at a time when its military offensive is experiencing considerable difficulty is the best way forward to defeat a Russian tyrant of questionable rationality without triggering a central European Pearl Harbour, given the veiled threats from President Vladimir Putin to include chemical and even nuclear weapons against a besieged Ukraine.

Terry Hewton, Adelaide, Australia

Western meddling in cross-strait relations dangerous

The cold war against Russia will persist even after the military confrontation in Ukraine comes to an end. Many countries are being pressured into taking sides, leading to uncertainties that could derail economic recovery and threaten livelihoods.

There are many lessons to learn from the catastrophe in Ukraine. In Asia, the Taiwan situation is a flashpoint and some Western countries are fanning discord with self-serving interest. Statements by irresponsible foreign politicians calling for Taiwan’s independence should be condemned.

03:21

Taiwanese march in solidarity with Ukraine as Russian invasion seen as wake-up call for island

China and Taiwan have coexisted peacefully for many decades. Asian nations that are allies of Western countries could play an important role and should strive to ease China-Taiwan tensions. Armed conflicts must be avoided at all costs for the sake of peace and stability.

It is in the interest of countries in this region to dissuade Western nations from meddling in cross-strait relations. The calamity in Ukraine is a grim reminder of undesirable consequences caused by hostility and wars.

Let peace prevail in the Indo-Pacific. No wars, please.

Tony Lim Kheng Yee, Singapore