China has signalled it is willing to attend further international talks on resolving the conflict in Ukraine, according to European officials who hailed its “constructive” participation in a Saudi Arabian forum that excluded Moscow.The weekend talks in Jeddah, which were attended by dozens of countries and focused on a 10-point peace plan proposed by Kyiv, concluded on Sunday without concrete developments. But the presence of Beijing, which weeks earlier declined to attend similar talks in Copenhagen, was seen as a coup for Kyiv and became the focus of the event among participants.
China unveiled a “no limits” partnership with Russia prior to Moscow’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of its neighbour, which Beijing has not condemned, and its release of a peace plan earlier this year had overlapped with the Kremlin’s talking points.
One European diplomat said China “appeared constructive” and “keen to show that [it] is not Russia”. The “mere presence of China shows Russia is more and more isolated”, the person said.