Zelenskyy: I don't see China benefiting from the end of the war
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: SERGEY DOLZHENKO/EPA)

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he does not see China benefiting from the end of Russia's war against Ukraine. The head of state said this in response to a question from a LIGA.net journalist during communication with the Ukrainian media.

The journalist asked the head of state how he sees China's role in all the current negotiations, and whether Beijing can put pressure on Moscow.

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"We respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every state that respects us. And, of course, China could do everything for this [ending the war]. Of course, China is a strong country, a strong economy. The most important thing in our case is the influence that China definitely has on Russia, personally on [Russian dictator] Putin. But, with all due respect to the people of China, to history, to culture, we must honestly say... I do not see that China would benefit from the end of this war," the president replied.

In this context, he mentioned the new US national security strategy: "Of course, these [Washington and Beijing] are two poles.... These are two great powers, great economies. And this is a great confrontation [between them]".

According to Zelenskyy, this does not mean that there is a war between the United States and China, but that there is confrontation between them in other areas, including diplomatic and economic.

"And today, China does not benefit from a weak and losing Russia in this format. And because of this, frankly, the Ukrainian people are suffering. Because if it is not profitable for China to stop Russia, it means that the war is continuing," the president explained.

He added that this does not mean that China is directly helping Russia with weapons, but it "definitely does not support stopping this war."

Zelenskyy recalled that, according to Ukrainian intelligence services, Beijing supplies Moscow with machine tools and "other things."

"But [as for] the direct supply of weapons... I was not informed about it," the head of state summarized.

  • In late October, the US president met with the head of China. After the talks, Trump said that Xi Jinping was "going to help" the United States in a peaceful settlement and that "We will work together on the issue of Ukraine".
  • At the end of November, Trump and Xi Jinping spoke by phone, in particular, about of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
  • In early December, French president Macron, during a meeting in China with Xi Jinping, called for a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, at least in the form of a moratorium on attacks on critical infrastructure.