Xi’s call is unusual, but it’s also easy to figure out. I have a peace proposal.
China’s Xi Calls Trump
The Wall Street Journal reports China’s Xi Calls Trump in Unusual Move to Discuss Ukraine, Taiwan
In an unusual diplomatic move, Chinese leader Xi Jinping initiated a phone call with President Trump on Monday, and the two men spoke about Taiwan and Ukraine as Washington, Kyiv and Moscow try to hammer out a plan to end the war.
China has provided crucial diplomatic and economic support for Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Now that Trump is pushing to make a decisive move to end the war, Beijing is seeking to play a more visible role.
“Xi Jinping emphasized that China supports all efforts committed to peace and hopes that all parties will continue to narrow their differences and reach a fair, lasting, and binding peace agreement as soon as possible to resolve the crisis at its root,” Chinese state media said in an account of the conversation.
The Chinese leader also highlighted the issue of Taiwan, a flashpoint between Beijing and Washington, as tensions across the Taiwan Strait have flared in recent weeks.
“Taiwan’s return to China is an important component of the postwar international order,” according to the Chinese state media account. In a pointed historical parallel, Xi also asserted that since China and the U.S. “fought side-by-side against fascism and militarism” during World War II, they should now work together to safeguard those achievements.
Trump affirmed that the U.S. “understands the importance of the Taiwan issue to China,” Xinhua said.
While the official Xinhua News Agency disclosed the call, it didn’t specify which leader took the initiative. However, people close to Beijing said it was Xi who made the outreach, transforming the high-level communication into a strategic, and rare, diplomatic overture from the Chinese side. A White House official confirmed that Trump and Xi spoke.
“It is highly unusual for Xi to initiate a call, and it underscores the opportunity Xi believes he has to shape President Trump’s views,” said Evan Medeiros, a former senior national-security official in the Obama administration and now a professor at Georgetown University. “Taiwan policy is almost certainly at the center of Xi’s thinking, pulling the U.S. closer to China’s thinking about Taiwan’s future.”
Who Should Decide the Future of Taiwan?
Mish Proposal: I suggest we let the people of Taiwan vote on it. That idea made sense for Crimea and it makes sense here.
However, I fear World War III is far more likely than my suggestion.
Ukraine Update
The call from Xi to Trump was a surprise, but this isn’t: Big Gaps Still Left to Bridge in U.S. Peace Plan for Ukraine
Diplomats from the U.S., Ukraine and Europe are thrashing out changes to a Trump-backed plan to end the war between Moscow and Kyiv, a proposal that critics said was too skewed in Russia’s favor in its first iteration.
Washington expressed optimism about the modifications made during what it called “constructive talks” over the weekend.
But significant sticking points remain.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday his country had managed “to keep extremely sensitive points on the table” during discussions in Geneva on Sunday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was still work to be done before agreeing on a final plan, which would need the signoff of President Trump and Zelensky.
Further complicating matters: If the issues resolve as Ukraine hopes, it is likely that the proposal would then be unpalatable to the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said that the American proposals on Ukraine, in their current form, could form the basis of a settlement, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Surrendering territory
The U.S. plan demands that Kyiv surrender heavily defended territory in its eastern Donbas region, including strategically important cities that Moscow hasn’t managed to seize in almost four years of war.On Monday, Zelensky said the main problem with the multipoint plan was the Kremlin’s demand for international legal recognition of the territory it has taken from Ukraine.
“It is crucial to support the principles on which Europe stands, that borders cannot be changed by force,” Zelensky said.
Under the U.S. plan, America would recognize the surrendered territory as Russian but the area would be a demilitarized zone from which Russian forces would be barred.
As for the rest of the Donbas, which is currently under Russian occupation, the U.S. would recognize it as “de facto” Russian, the plan says.
Top European officials said over the weekend that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia should start with a cease-fire along the current front lines.
NATO ambitions
The U.S. plan would block Ukraine from membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its mutual defense pact. It also creates an expectation that the military alliance wouldn’t expand. No NATO troops could be stationed in Ukraine.Kyiv recognizes that its chances of entering the alliance in the coming years are very low, although the country’s constitution says this remains the aim.
After Sunday’s talks, Rubio said that issues directly involving NATO and the European Union had been set aside for now. However, the Europeans are pushing for wording in the plan that would allow them to send a reassurance force to Ukraine after a peace deal, something Moscow has opposed. Such a force would never be under NATO command or allowed into Ukraine during peacetime, the Europeans say.
Borders Cannot Be Changed by Force
I like the idea.
I suggest a vote for Ukraine and Taiwan.
What’s In Trump’s Original Proposal?
For details of the initial lopsided deal, please see Trump Peace Plan Requires Ukraine to Cede Donetsk and Luhansk to Russia
Territory for peace or a total surrender?
Update 1: Trump to Revise Ukraine Peace Plan After Huge Wave of Criticism
Update 2: Russia Sticks to Demands. Will Trump Change Peace Deal Proposal?
Once Trump made a proposal that Putin liked, it will be difficult to get Putin to accept changes.
What Does Putin Have on Trump?
The key question of the day is: What Does Putin Have on Trump? Nothing? Something?
That question has been on my mind for months. Trump has made dozens of threats on Putin this year and backed off every one of them.
Is Trump that much of a paper-tiger blowhard, or is something else in play?
Either is plausible.
