China's peace plan has international backing, Beijing claims after Ukraine summit snub

Over two dozen countries have purportedly voiced support for ideas presented in China's alternative peace plan, Bloomberg reported on June 4, citing Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Ukraine invited China to the peace summit back in January, but Beijing indicated it would not attend as the terms the Chinese government required to attend were not met.

The Chinese proposal is presented as an alternative to President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace plan, which is backed by Kyiv's Western partners and will be discussed at the peace summit on June 15-16 in the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland. Russia was not invited to the event.

Zelensky's 10-point peace formula, a plan first outlined in the fall of 2022, calls for a complete withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine, punishing those responsible for war crimes, and the release of all prisoners, among other goals.

The document laid out by China and Brazil in May called for an international conference recognized by both Ukraine and Russia, Bloomberg said.

At least 26 nations have agreed to or are seeking ways to join the conference Beijing suggested, while 45 countries supported the ideas presented in the alternative plan, Wang said.

China previously pitched a peace proposal in February 2023, which was praised by Russia, dismissed by the West, and received a mixed response from Kyiv.

The leaders of the warring countries have refused to negotiate with each other directly.

Wang added that "conditions are not yet ready for peace talks" and China will "make its own decisions" on participation in meetings like the peace summit.

After Beijing signaled its refusal to participate, Zelensky accused China of "working hard" to prevent countries from attending the summit.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning rejected the accusation, saying that China has never "fanned fire or fueled the flames" of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine.

China officially declares itself a neutral party to Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine and has denied providing lethal aid, but Beijing and Moscow continue to develop closer ties, most recently with Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting his counterpart Xi Jinping in May.

US on Beijing’s refusal to attend peace summit: China could play a useful diplomatic role if it wanted to

“We are going to continue to make clear to China that we object to those actions, that we will hold entities responsible for those actions, and we have heard our European counterparts say the same thing,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on June 3.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova