Tetyana MalyarenkoandStefan Wolff

Opinion | Is Trump inviting China’s Xi to his inauguration to broker a Ukraine peace deal?

The US president-elect’s unusual invitation to Xi Jinping came after he’d said ‘China can help’ end the Ukraine war

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

US president-elect President Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to his inauguration in Washington on January 20. Photo: AP

Tetyana MalyarenkoandStefan Wolff

Published: 10:00am, 22 Dec 2024

US president-elect Donald Trump has invited China’s President Xi Jinping to his inauguration on January 20 in a surprise move that appears to be part of a plan to bring Beijing into talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Shortly after his recent meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris, Trump posted, “There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin,” and “China can help.” That latter remark has suddenly gained more significance after Trump extended the unusual invitation for the Chinese leader to attend the January 20 ceremony.

Leaving aside whether Xi will accept Trump’s invitation to Washington – he probably won’t – the bigger question is whether it will actually help Trump end the conflict.

China has maintained strong economic and trading ties with Russia throughout the war, and has refrained from criticising Putin. While it has denied providing Moscow with military help, reports suggest Beijing has allowed some goods that have battlefield use to be sent to Russia.

At first glance, Trump’s proposal and the one China recently put forward with Brazil seem like two reasonably well-aligned peace plans.

Both call for a ceasefire along the current front lines, followed by negotiations on a permanent settlement. Both seem to accept Russia’s demand to freeze the territorial status quo, which would mean Ukraine would lose about 20 per cent of its territory that Moscow’s forces have illegally occupied since 2014.