China’s Call for Peace in Ukraine Could Imply It Needs Russia’s Backing Elsewhere: Author

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Wang Yi, at the Kremlin in Moscow on Feb. 22, 2023. (Anton Novoderezhkin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

China’s call for peace talks and a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine could mean a number of things, including the possibility it needs Russia’s support if it invades Taiwan, according to the former executive vice president of Fox News.

“Peace is a big word. It’s a short word, but it means so many different things,” said John Moody in an interview recorded on Feb. 23 on NTD’s “China in Focus.” He was responding to a question about Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Russia, which, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, was to be used to call for peace and to dissuade Russia from furthering a war that could escalate into a nuclear conflict.

Xi is reportedly planning a trip to Moscow in the coming months, though the trip arrangements are in their infancy. On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, China’s Foreign Ministry called for a ceasefire between the two nations and proposed a 12-point plan for achieving a political solution to ending the war.

Titled “China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis,” the plan calls for abandoning what the Chinese regime described as a “cold war mentality.”

According to Moody, there are two reasons behind China’s call for peace between Russia and Ukraine.

China Shocked at Russian Failures

“The first is, I think, that Beijing is incredibly startled and disappointed and nervous at how badly the war has gone for Russia. They thought, like so many people did, that the Red Army was going to roll into Ukraine, wrap things up in a couple of weeks, come home, and start drinking vodka again,” said Moody, who is the author of multiple books including 2022 thriller “The World We Wish,” which offers a startling insight into the harsh realities of life under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“In fact, Russia has had a very, very disorganized attack plan,” he said.

The second reason behind China suggesting a peace plan for Russia and Ukraine could be that Beijing is in need of Russian support for its agenda to take Taiwan by force, Moopy said.

“Xi Jinping could very well be trying to strengthen and buck up Russia because he has his own plans for Taiwan—another military invasion plan, this time by the Chinese, he’s going to want to make sure that just as he is supporting Russia, Russia will be supporting him—if not militarily, at least diplomatically,” said Moody.

Meanwhile, in its 12-point plan, the Chinese regime linked its rhetoric about discouraging “expanding military blocks” with “abandoning the Cold War mentality.” The CCP also called on the international community to promote peace talks.

Moody said this call for peace could also point to vulnerability at home threatening Xi’s “godlike image that he has projected” as the CCP’s leader.

“So, I think he needs a win, just like any sports team needs a win after it’s had a couple of bad losses,” he added.

Wang’s Visit

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi concluded his visit to Russia before the 12-point plan was released. In its press conference last Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wang had an “in-depth exchange of views” with the Russian side.

Putin welcomed Wang and confirmed Xi’s upcoming visit to Moscow on Wednesday.

“We await a visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China to Russia, we have agreed on this,” Putin told Wang.

However, according to an AFP reporter at the Chinese Foreign Ministry press conference, a Ukrainian official claimed that no similar talks occurred between China and Ukraine.

In response to AFP’s question about why China didn’t consult with Ukraine before suggesting the 12-point peace plan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that “China and Ukraine have maintained smooth communication.”

With growing strategic cooperation between Russia and China, concerns have mounted about China’s supplying Russia with weapons and its impact on the Ukraine crisis. The two countries in December 2022 completed joint naval drills in the East China Sea and Putin and Xi had a call, during which Putin said that Moscow sought to strengthen military ties with Beijing.

Moody said China and Russia together are a bigger threat, and that President Joe Biden doesn’t know what to do should that alliance be cemented.

“I don’t think the United States knows what consequences to inflict on China, I think it’s not so much an empty threat as an intentionally vague threat,” said Moody.

“And then if China goes ahead, and there’s evidence that it is supplying Russia with lethal arms, then the decision-making will come into play. But at the moment, I really don’t think the Biden administration knows what to do.”