European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently said that Xi is open to giving Zelensky a call. But according to Eigenraam, rumors had already circulated that the Chinese president would call. “It hasn’t happened yet and Xi didn’t come back to this Von der Leyen story in her press conference,” Eigenraam says.
mediator
Von der Leyen, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, paid a visit to Beijing, which, among other things, urged China to mediate in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Eigenraam, however, argues that China will only put more pressure on Russia if there is something to gain for the country. At the moment this is not the case yet, thinks the correspondent from China.
China has no interest in Russia’s collapse
“If there is a scenario where Russia is losing, wants to avoid losing face and has an interest in concluding a ceasefire, China can be a great mediator. This is a scenario in which China has something to gain, given the excellent peacemaking role it can play,’ explains Eigenraam. At the moment this is not the case and China has no interest in Russia’s collapse, says the Chinese correspondent. “China doesn’t want a weak, collapsed and defeated Russia as a neighbor.”
For the West, this means that von der Leyen and Macron’s visit to Xi may not have the desired effect, Eigenraam suspects. During that visit, a good cop/bad cop strategy was used in which von der Leyen mainly put pressure on Xi while also talking about the situation of the Uyghurs. Macron, on the other hand, was more accessible, he suggested solving the problem together. China has also taken on that role of peacemaker in brokering a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Doggie
But the conflict in Ukraine has not yet reached that stage. ‘In China Von der Leyen is seen as a little dog of the United States, which has also been reflected in all kinds of media here. While he actually proclaims the EU’s position,” says Eigenraam. “The entire visit was then framed by Chinese state media showing that all countries agree that the world should not be divided into blocs under any circumstances.”
“In a sense, Europe has not made progress in terms of pressure”
China is therefore using the visit of Western diplomats to show its people that there is agreement, Eigenraam says. ‘In a sense, Europe has not made progress in terms of pressure. But this visit was good for France, because many agreements were concluded in the energy and industrial sector. And also with Airbus, because China has already bought planes from Boeing, but those orders go out less often due to the poor relationship with the US,” the China correspondent said.