Reading Beteween Lines: Why China is now blowing peace pipe in Sudan

By Girish Linganna | First Published Apr 27, 2023, 5:24 PM IST

Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and now Sudan... Girish Linganna analyses the new mantle taken over by China as the global peacemaker.

Perhaps no image better portrays China's new-found role as peacemaker in regional conflicts across the globe than that of Secretary of Iran's security council Ali Shamkhani and Saudi Arabia's Minister of State Musaad-bin-Mohammed al-Aiban shaking hands in Beijing, with China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, standing between them, looking on with a benign smile.

The occasion was the celebration of a China-mediated peace deal restoring diplomatic ties between the two arch-rivals, in the process, bolstering China's reputation as a global power-broker and underscoring the extent to which the USA's regional role has diminished. This is a compelling public relations campaign that China is running in defiance of the US to portray itself as a peacemaker worldwide.

Tap to resize

Latest Videos

Tap to resize

THE XI-ZELENSKYY PHONE CALL

Exactly 61 weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, China’s autocratic leader, Xi Jinping, finally spoke to Ukraine's President Volodymir Zelenskyy over the phone on Wednesday (April 26, 2023). In the conversation, Xi reportedly conveyed a shared "respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity", saying that the key pillar of the United Nations charter was "the political foundation for China-Ukraine relations", according to Beijing’s foreign ministry.

But China did not even refer to the Crimean peninsula illegally occupied by Russia since 2014.
"China stands for peace," Xi purportedly told Zelenskyy. "Dialogue is the only way out," the Chinese leader said, "and no one wins a nuclear war. With rational thinking and voices now on the rise, it is important to… build up favourable conditions for the political settlement of the crisis."

He also promised "China will continue to facilitate talks for peace and make its efforts for an early ceasefire and restoration of the peace", including sending an envoy to Ukraine and other countries to have "in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis".

Xi’s call to Zelenskyy came over a month after Xi's summit in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The call was made after Western leaders had intensified pressure on Beijing for weeks to use the Chinese leader's influence with the Russian head of state to broker a deal for ending the Russia-Ukraine War, which began with Russia's invasion in late-February 2022.

It was the first call between Xi and Zelenskyy since Russia invaded Ukraine. Zelenskyy is believed to have put out the invitation.

CHINA AND RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

In February, Chinese President Xi Jinping's confidante, Wang Yi who is also a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and head of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, clearly ended his European tour on a positive note.

In Moscow, he held talks with Security Council Secretary Patrushev, Sergei Lavrov and President Putin. The tortuous route through Europe, several difficult meetings, and statements quite open to Chinese foreign policy left no room for experts' speculation, conjecture, or supposition -- China will serve as the primary and sole mediator in resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

It would attempt to broker peace where Turkey and the Middle East had failed.

CALLS FOR PEACE IN SUDAN

On April 26, the permanent representative of China to the UN, Zhang Jun, called for an urgent halt to the hostilities taking place in Sudan. He called on the Sudanese Army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who heads the powerful militia group, the Rapid Support Force (RSF), to end hostilities immediately.

The recent armed conflict in Sudan has led to widespread civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure. Zhang said China, which was a "good friend and partner of Sudan", was "pained" to see the country plummeting back into turmoil.

The recent outbreaks of armed conflict in Sudan have led to the deaths of many civilians and the destruction of critical infrastructure. According to Zhang, China, a close ally and friend of Sudan, feels terrible about the recent disarray that has spread throughout the country.

China is a powerful force throughout Africa. The geostrategic location of Sudan in the Horn of Africa, next to the oil-rich Gulf region, has made it a desired location for big power competition in Africa.

However, China no longer sees Sudan as a positive development as it did in the past. The Chinese market is no longer dependent on the North African country as a big oil supplier. Before roughly 10 years ago, Sudan was China’s sixth-largest foreign oil supplier, satisfying 5.5% of the country’s needs.

However, China remains one of Sudan’s most important trading partners and an active investor in various industries, including mining. Many Chinese nationals are working in infrastructure, services and the remnants of the hydrocarbon industry for Beijing.

It will be a matter of interest if China is able to bring the warring sides to a talks table. But, through its Global Security Initiative (GSI), China is widely anticipated to continue playing an important part in resolving conflicts worldwide.

The author of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political analyst

For more reliable and latest news