China Denies Possibility of Sending Peacekeepers to Ukraine

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China has denied information about the possible involvement of China in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.

The Chinese media Global Times reported on this.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated that the German media Welt am Sonntag report about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China discussing the possibility of China joining Ukrainian peacekeeping forces in Brussels “is absolutely false.”

Thus, he denied previous reports that Chinese diplomats in Brussels held consultations on how Europe perceives China’s involvement in the “coalition of the willing” and whether it considers it advisable.

Meanwhile, European politicians responded that China’s potential involvement in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine could influence Russia’s stance on accepting peacekeepers. However, regardless of the outcome, the matter remains a “sensitive” one.

China’s position on the war in Ukraine

China has consistently referred to Russia’s war against Ukraine as a “crisis” and has repeatedly called for a “peaceful” resolution to the conflict.

For example, in February 2023, China released its so-called “peace plan” for Ukraine. It included a call for the resumption of negotiations and criticism of sanctions. At the same time, China emphasized its “respect for the sovereignty of all countries” and stressed the inadmissibility of the use of nuclear weapons.

In February 2024, Zhang Jun, the Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, stated that the United States should cease further military support to Ukraine in order for diplomatic channels to start working.

In his view, some countries should stop providing Ukraine with military equipment and missiles, which prevent peace talks with Russia from starting.

In the fall of 2024, a new “peace plan” co-authored by China and Brazil was published, but it only envisioned a freeze of the conflict through a ceasefire.

Coalition of the Willing

Many European countries have expressed their readiness, or at least have not ruled out the possibility of deploying their peacekeeping contingents to Ukraine in the event of a war resolution in the format of a “coalition of the willing.”

So far, the following countries have made such statements, including Denmark, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Turkey, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Ireland, and the Czech Republic.