(soft music)
- [Host] Chinese President Xi Jinping met
with his Russian counterpart during a state visit
to Moscow.
(Vladimir speaking foreign language)
And is soon expected to talk
to Ukrainian president Volodymir Zelensky
for the first time since the war started.
(camera clicking)
While the west has expressed concerns
over China's deepening ties with Russia,
Beijing has indicated an ambition to help bring
about talks toward a ceasefire in Ukraine.
- Xi jinping, one of his main goals is to make China
get into a a superpower.
And so part of that is being involved
in security discussions and peace talks around the world.
- [Host] Recent diplomatic breakthrough is brokered by China
offered tangible evidence that Beijing is willing
to use its influence to help resolve foreign disputes.
Austin Ramsey covers China's global reach
for the Journal and explains what Beijing's model
of a new diplomacy means for the US.
(upbeat music)
On March 10th, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced
that they agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations
after seven years of estrangement
in a deal mediated by China.
(Wang speaking foreign language)
- This is a sort of thing that would be difficult
for the US to bring about.
The US doesn't have formal ties with Iran
and is of course very critical of the Iranian authorities.
There was obviously a concern that the US had lost clout
particularly in the Middle East,
and China was now playing this much more important role.
- [Host] And this wasn't the first showcase
of Xi's diplomatic ambitions.
Last June, China offered to quote,
silence the guns across the troubled horn of Africa,
at its first regional Peace conference.
Delegates from six countries gathered
in Ethiopia to hear China's pledge
that Beijing was best placed to restore stability
to the region.
- The Chinese approach
to these negotiations can be very different
from the United States.
China has a policy of non-interference,
which often means not being critical
of governments and just focusing on bringing them together.
That can be very appealing, especially to governments
that don't want their records examined.
- [Host] While China has sought to contrast
its regional policy with the US,
Washington has accused Beijing
of using the mediation dialogues to bolster
authoritarian regimes and expand its security footprint.
(bomb exploding)
An analyst say securing any diplomatic wins
in Ukraine would be a much tougher challenge for Beijing.
European Capitals and Washington have so far
greeted Beijing's diplomatic push with skepticism.
- China can't have it both ways when it comes to
the Russian aggression Ukraine,
it can't be putting forward peace proposals
on the one hand while actually feeding the flames
of the fire that Russia has started, with the other hand.
- Both Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin share a deep distrust
of the US and the West, and they see the world order as led
by the West to the detriment of their own countries
and so it's very harmful for China,
if Russia is damaged by the war and it no longer
can play a role in supporting this effort to sort
of lessen American and Western influence over the world.
- [Host] As part of its push for what Xi calls
big power diplomacy, Beijing increased its budget
for diplomatic travel
and other related expenses by 12% this year.
(soft music)
In a bid to counter China's inroads.
- It's very, very good feedback in Africa.
- [Host] Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken traveled
to Ethiopia and Negele in mid-March and he's just one
of the many US officials who are visiting regions
where Washington and Beijing are competing for influence.
- I think nothing focuses the US like a competitor.
This could sort of bring
about sort of renewed American efforts to engage
in diplomacy around the world, engage in diplomacy
in some places that the US might have ignored,
a little bit in in recent years.
(soft music)