World
What is China’s game plan in Ukraine?
What is China’s game plan in Ukraine?
China is playing an increasingly prominent role on the sidelines of Russia’s war in Ukraine as the conflict drags on into its second year.
From a “position paper” on resolving the war to allegations that Beijing may be mulling arms to Russia and meeting with close Moscow allies, here is a rundown of China’s growing say in the conflict:
Arms to Russia?
For much of the war, China has framed itself as a neutral party, while retaining close ties with Russia.
Chinese state-controlled firms have sold non-lethal drones and other equipment to both Russia and Ukraine, forcing Moscow to turn to Iran for armaments.
Washington believes that might be about to change, however, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying last month that China is “considering providing lethal support” to Russia.
Beijing swiftly denied the claims, accusing the United States of “fanning the flames” of the war with massive arms shipments to the Ukrainian government.
The United States is yet to provide concrete evidence that China is mulling sending arms to Russia, but experts have told AFP there is some credence to the claims — and that Beijing entering the conflict could be a “game changer”.
Position paper
China has over the last year faced mounting calls from the West to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Seeking to portray itself as a mediator, Beijing last week unveiled a 12-point paper to bring peace, which included respecting all countries’ territorial sovereignty.
Timed to coincide with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, the document urged all parties to “support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible”.
But the paper, while praised by the United Nations and Russia, was immediately met by scepticism from Ukraine’s allies, with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg saying Beijing “doesn’t have much credibility because they have not been able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine”.
And Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund, told AFP that the document “was largely a summary of China’s statements over the past year”.
“Beijing still claims NATO is the cause of the war and refused to condemn Russia’s invasion. This is old wine in a semi-new bottle,” said Glaser.
Meeting Putin’s friends
As Beijing talks up its neutral stance, China’s President Xi Jinping this week meets with Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
As one of Putin’s few reliable foreign partners, Lukashenko could provide Beijing with updated insight into the developing situation in Ukraine, potentially influencing Chinese strategy on the issue.
Economic ties between Belarus and China had been steadily strengthening until the pandemic and Russia’s invasion caused widespread disruption to supply chains and the global economy.
Belarus was used by Russia as a military staging ground for its full-scale assault on Ukraine last February, initiating a prolonged conflict.
Xi and Lukashenko formally declared their countries to be “all-weather, comprehensive partners” last September, and the Belarusian leader’s visit to Beijing is likely intended to return bilateral ties to their pre-2020 trajectory.
Talks with Zelensky?
On the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed a desire to meet with Xi to discuss Beijing’s proposals to resolve the crisis.
“I really want to believe that China will not supply weapons to Russia,” Zelensky said.
The Chinese foreign ministry has not yet provided details on a potential meeting between the two sides, maintaining repeatedly that they “keep close communications with relevant parties”.
Zelensky welcomed China’s 12-point paper, a position echoed by the Russian foreign ministry, which said it “shares Beijing’s views”.
The Ukrainian president would likely use a meeting to urge Beijing to wield its leverage on Russia and take meaningful steps towards resolving the conflict.
But so far China has shown no sign of such intentions, Elizabeth Wishnick, Senior Research Scholar at Columbia’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute, told AFP.
“To the contrary, (President Xi) is considering a visit to Moscow and continues to parrot Russian propaganda on the US and NATO responsibility for the war,” said Wishnick.
Gunfire and explosions rocked the Jenin area of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, an AFP journalist reported, as the Israeli military kept up a large-scale raid for a second day.
The operation, launched just days after a ceasefire paused more than a year of fighting in Gaza, has left at least 10 Palestinians dead, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israeli officials have said the raid is part of a broader campaign against militants in the West Bank, citing thousands of attack attempts since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023.
“The situation is very difficult,” Jenin governor Kamal Abu al-Rub told AFP.
“The occupation army has bulldozed all the roads leading to Jenin camp and to the Jenin government hospital… There is shooting and explosions,” he added, referring to the Israeli military.
Israeli forces have detained around 20 people from villages around Jenin since the operation began on Tuesday, the official said.
An AFP correspondent reported hearing gunfire and explosions from the northern city’s refugee camp, a hotbed of militancy where Israeli forces have carried out repeated raids.
In December, Jenin area militants also clashed with the security forces of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
‘IRON WALL’
The Israeli military said it was continuing with the operation, dubbed “Iron Wall”, adding that it had “neutralised over 10 terrorists”.
“Additionally, aerial strikes on terror infrastructure sites were conducted and numerous explosives planted on the routes by the terrorists were dismantled,” it said in a statement.
The raid in Jenin aims to counter “hundreds of terrorist attacks, both in Judea and Samaria (the occupied West Bank) and the rest of Israel,” military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said at a press briefing.
He said that since the start of the Gaza war, Israel had seen “over 2,000 terror attack attempts” from the West Bank, adding that the army had “eliminated around 800 terrorists”.
Shoshani said the explosive devices planted along roads had recently killed a soldier in the area.
Islamic Jihad, one of the factions present in Jenin, condemned what it called “the systematic displacement, destruction and killing carried out by the occupation army against Jenin refugee camp”.
The Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry accused Israel of “collective punishment” and said the raid was part of an Israeli plan aimed at “gradually annexing the occupied West Bank”.
‘DECISIVE OPERATION’
Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to continue the raid in Jenin.
“It is a decisive operation aimed at eliminating terrorists in the camp,” Katz said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the military would not allow a “terror front” to be established there.
“It is a key lesson learnt from Gaza… we do not want terrorism to recur in the camp once the operation ends,” he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the raid aimed to “eradicate terrorism” in Jenin.
He linked the operation to a broader strategy of countering Iran “wherever it sends its arms — in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen” and the West Bank.
The Israeli government has accused Iran, which supports armed groups across the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza, of attempting to funnel weapons and funds to militants in the West Bank.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “maximum restraint” from Israeli security forces and expressed deep concern, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.
Violence has surged throughout the occupied West Bank since the Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 848 Palestinians in the West Bank since the conflict began.
During the same period, at least 29 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations in the territory, according to Israeli official figures.
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump that the kingdom wants to put $600 billion into expanded investment and trade with the United States over the next four years, the Saudi State news agency said early on Thursday.
The crown prince expressed it during a phone call with Trump, who took oath for his second term on January 20.
During the call, the crown prince conveyed the congratulations of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his own congratulations to the President on the occasion of his inauguration, and wished the friendly American people more progress and prosperity under the President’s leadership.
The two leaders discussed ways for cooperation between the Kingdom and the US to promote peace, security and stability in the Middle East, in addition to enhancing bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism.
The leaders also discussed ways to enhance bilateral ties in various areas, and the crown prince noted the US administration’s ability to create unprecedented economic prosperity and opportunity through anticipated reforms in the United States, and that the Kingdom seeks to participate in these opportunities for partnership and investment.
The US president expressed his appreciation and thanked the Saudi leadership for their congratulations, and affirmed his keenness to work with the Kingdom on all that benefits the interests of both countries.
Trump said following his inauguration on Monday that he would consider making Saudi Arabia his first destination for a foreign visit if Riyadh agreed to buy $500 billion worth of American products, similar to what he did in his first term.
“I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our product. I said I’ll do it but you have to buy American product, and they agreed to do that,” Trump said, referring to his 2017 visit to the Gulf kingdom.
An executive order by US President Donald Trump to suspend resettlement of all refugees, including Afghans, for an indefinite period is being seen as a betrayal of those who supported the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and NATO in Afghanistan.
Nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared by the US government to resettle in the US, including family members of active-duty US military personnel, are in limbo since the Trump-led administration took extreme decision.
The order has left them stranded while it is expecting from Pakistan, which has hosted millions of Afghans for decades on humanitarian grounds, to share the burden again.
Instead of easing the burden, the US ban has only intensified challenges for Pakistan and other neighbouring host countries.
Furthermore, the western countries, which have been criticising Pakistan for repatriation of illegal immigrants, are refusing to accept refugees by giving lame excuses, abandoning Afghan refugees when they need help the most.
The Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Amnesty International and the EU keep an eye on Pakistan’s policies while there is no focus on the hypocrisy being showed by the Western countries by banning refugees after using them as pawns.
The international community must hold the US and EU accountable for their bans and pressure them to contribute fairly to managing the Afghan refugee crisis.
Trump made an immigration crackdown a major promise of his victorious 2024 election campaign, leaving the fate of US refugee programmes up in the air.
The State Department on Wednesday implemented the order, announcing that all refugee arrivals were indefinitely suspended, all previously scheduled travel cancelled and new refugee applications, as well those in process, were suspended.
OpenAI, SoftBank each commit 19bn dollars to Stargate AI data center
Taiwan’s HTC to sell part of XR unit to Google for 250mn dollars
Microsoft’s LinkedIn sued for disclosing customer information to train AI models
-
Business2 months agoAuto industry’s shift toward EVs is expected to go on despite Trump threat to kill tax credits
-
Entertainment3 months agoBeyoncé leads the 2025 Grammy noms, becoming the most nominated artist in the show’s history
-
Business3 months agoWall Street cruises toward the close of its best week in a year
-
World2 months agoSix Israeli troops killed, deadly strikes in Lebanon
-
pakistan3 months agoPM Shehbaz terms promotion of foreign investment as top priority
-
Business2 months agoWall Street gains ground as it notches a winning week and another Dow record
-
Sports1 month agoSouthampton set to sign Juric as new manager
-
Entertainment2 months agoMovie Review: ‘Red One’ tries to supersize the Christmas movie