Crump calls Wang Yi “definitely an important man”. According to Crump, his presentation of this plan shows that China is “serious”. Never mind that Crump warns that we shouldn’t overthink China’s proposals and that he will probably limit himself to platitudes and “a few general statements.” “But we can’t hope for anything that will end the war.” The remarkable thing about the initiative is that China almost never talks about other countries, let alone other people’s internal affairs.
The question arises as to why China is proposing this initiative. And why right now? According to Crump, it is in China’s interest to create an image of peacemaker. Also because the war is causing a lot of hardships in Beijing. China implicitly supports Russia, but explicitly does not want to get involved in the war. It should be noted that China would like the war to end.
“You see how great the discomfort is after a year of war”
But Crump doesn’t expect much more than general terms. “China will enhance Russia’s security, some aspects could be interesting.” Crump points out that China is the only country that can exert some degree of influence over Russia.
Malaise
‘You can see how great the hardship is after a year of war. China does not want to take sides, but wants it to pass». Crump draws several conclusions from the Chinese initiative: namely that nobody sees a way out, that China is taking the opportunity to profile itself and that it is trying to drive a wedge between Europe and the United States. “They talked to Europe, but they didn’t share it with the United States.”
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