Ukraine-Russia War: China’s special envoy to Ukraine Li Hui, who was appointed to investigate the basis of peace talks between the warring countries – Russia and Ukraine – urged other governments on Friday to “stop sending weapons to the battlefield”. So that the ongoing brutal war can be ended. Li visited Ukraine, Russia, Poland, France, Germany and the European Union headquarters during the May 15-28 trip to discuss ‘peace’. He held peace talks after he did not indicate that his visit to the region had made any progress towards an agreement.
Li Hui’s appeal comes amid Washington and its European allies ramping up supplies of missiles, tanks and other weapons to Ukrainian forces trying to retake Russian-held territory.
No change in China’s earlier position
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government says it is neutral and wants to act as a mediator but has backed Moscow politically. “China believes that if we really want to end war, save lives and realize peace, it is important for us not to send weapons to the battlefield,” Li told reporters. Stop it, otherwise the tension will escalate.”
hope for peace
Political analysts see little prospect of the Chinese initiative moving forward, but it presents an opportunity for Beijing to expand its global diplomatic role. Beijing released a proposed peace plan in February, but Ukraine’s allies have insisted that President Vladimir Putin must first withdraw Russian forces.
Does war help the Chinese economy?
The sheer size and rapid growth of the Chinese economy are impressive. China maintained one of the highest economic growth rates in the world for more than a quarter of a century, helping lift more than 800 million people out of poverty in just a few decades.
The country is the largest exporter in the world and the most important trading partner of Japan, Germany, Brazil and many other countries. It has the second largest economy after the US based on market exchange rates, and the largest based on purchasing power parity.
And yet the yuan still lags behind as a major global currency. The war in Ukraine starting in February 2022 could change that. As a professor of finance and an expert in international finance, I understand how this geopolitical conflict could put China’s currency in the next phase of its path to becoming a global currency – and the decline of the US dollar from its current dominance. can inspire the beginning of
Slow Progress of the Chinese Yuan
China has long wanted to make the yuan a global power and has made significant efforts in recent years to do so. For example, the Chinese government launched the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, or CIPS, in 2015 to facilitate cross-border payments in yuan. Three years later, in 2018, it launched the world’s first yuan-denominated crude oil futures contract to allow exporters to sell oil in yuan.
China has also emerged as perhaps the world’s largest creditor, with governments and state-controlled enterprises extending loans to dozens of developing countries. And China is developing a digital yuan as one of the world’s first central bank digital currencies. Even trading hours for the yuan were recently extended on the mainland. Thanks to these efforts, the yuan is now the fifth most traded currency in the world.
This is a phenomenal increase from its 35th position in 2001. The yuan is also the fifth most actively used currency for global payments by April 2023, up from 30th place in early 2011.
(with AP inputs)