On Thursday President Donald Trump said that he will ask China to help resolve the Ukraine war. The statement is notable as on Thursday Chinese Leader Xi Jinping stated that he supports Russian President Vladimir Putin with regard to the conflict, but expanded his stance on the issue Friday when he said that he hopes for a fair and lasting resolution. Xi’s Friday statement comes after Ukraine’s Dictator Vladimir Zelensky announced a 30-day Ukrainian ceasefire on Thursday, effective immediately.
When asked by a journalist if Beijing could play a role in facilitating peace talks between Moscow and Kiev Trump indicated that he is open to the possibility.
“It is a natural thing to ask,” Trump said.
When asked if Chinese involvement would help resolve the conflict the President said “I think so, yes.”
While tensions between the U.S. and China have been strained due to Washington’s tariff policies, on Friday the President said that the White House is considering an 80 percent tariff on China, a reduction from the current 145 percent.
Trump’s interest in Chinese involvement comes after an unusual statement he made on Wednesday.
“We are getting to a point where some decisions are going to have to be made,” the President said. “I’m not happy about it … I’m not happy about it.”
It is unclear exactly what decisions Trump had in mind, but the intersection of geopolitical and financial policies are ever present. A reduction in tariffs may possibly be linked to a reduction in the Eastern European theater of war, although that is just theory and it remains unconfirmed.
On Thursday Xi stated that he supports Russia in the Ukraine war while meeting with Putin during Moscow’s celebration commemorating the 80-year anniversary of the end of World War Two.
Beijing’s Leader stated that the two countries should be “friends of steel” and that they should decisively counter the influence of the U.S. while forming a “New World Order” free of U.S. influence.
“At talks in the Kremlin, the two leaders cast themselves as defenders of a new world order no longer dominated by the U.S.,” Reuters said, despite the establishment narrative that a New World Order is just a tin foil hat conspiracy theory.
“In a lengthy joint statement, they said they would deepen relations in all areas, including military ties, and ‘strengthen coordination in order to decisively counter Washington’s course of ‘dual containment’ of Russia and China’,” Reuters said. “The two countries said the Ukraine conflict could only be settled by removing its ‘root causes’ – a phrase that Russia has frequently used when arguing that it was forced to go to war to prevent the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO. Ukraine and its Western allies say that was a false pretext for what they call an imperial-style invasion.”
On Friday Xi expanded his stance on the issue however, and indicated that he hopes for a fair and lasting end to the Ukraine conflict.
Xi hopes for “a fair, lasting and binding peace deal that is accepted by all parties involved,” according to Bloomberg.
Ukrainian news outlet Kiev Post reported Friday that “Xi and Putin pledge deeper ties, call for peace talks on the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine as Moscow signals readiness for talks without preconditions.” This indicates the Ukrainian mouthpiece is reporting on Russian peace efforts, a rare phenomenon.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that Russia has long been waiting for the conflict to be resolved when asked about Zelensky’s announcement of a 30-day Ukrainian ceasefire.
“[Russia is] ready for this. Russia has long been ready not just for a ceasefire, but for a peace agreement [with Kiev], Lukashenko said. “The issue is not with Russia. Therefore, we need to sort things out on the other side, as far as I know. As soon as the Americans and the Ukrainians decide that peace is needed, the Europeans will fall in line, and peace will come.”
Following the signing of the mineral deal by Kiev, the White House approved a $310 million sale of F-16 parts and support, an air defense strategy listed within the mineral deal. Under the deal, mining operations in Ukraine aim to repay the U.S. for its previous military aid to Kiev, so air defense may be Washington’s way of protecting these operations. It also indicates that Trump’s foreign and defense policy is guided by economic policy.
“The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on May 2 that the Trump administration had approved the sale of parts, maintenance and training for F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine worth $310 million,” Aljazeera said.
While the U.S. pursues a geopolitical strategy based in economics, Western Europe pursues a geopolitical policy based in lawsuits.
“Europe threw its support on Friday behind a special tribunal to prosecute President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, a show of unity on a day when Moscow marks its ‘victory day’,” Reuters said. “At a meeting in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, ministers from almost 20 European nations gave their political sign-off to the tribunal, welcoming the completion of the technical work required to set it up.”