Chinese media has responded following the adversarial meeting between Donald Trump‘s and Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office Friday.
Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian foreign ministry by email with a request for comment.
Why It Matters
Tensions flared during the live, televised discussion after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky questioned U.S. President Donald Trump’s trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing his past violations of agreements and land grabs—first in 2014 and again with its full-scale invasion in 2022.
​The leaders had planned to sign a deal granting the U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral resources. Trump downplayed the possibility of another Russian offensive, stating he’d known Putin “for a long time” and criticizing Zelenskyy for his “tremendous hatred” toward Putin.
What To Know
Asked about the curtailed meeting, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters Monday that Beijing would “work for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and achieve peace, and play a constructive role.”
Mystyslav Chernov/Associated Press
Responding to speculation about Chinese peacekeepers being part of security assurances in a future peace agreement, he stressed that China “is not a party to the conflict but supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis.”
Despite China’s official neutrality on Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, the U.S. and its allies have accused Beijing of helping sustain Russia’s war effort through record trade flows and exports of drone parts and other dual-use goods.
What’s Being Said
Shen Yi, a professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University, wrote in a Saturday op-ed on state-aligned Chinese nationalistic news website Guancha: “First, clinging to the U.S. comes with risks—major risks—and can lead to a disastrous downfall. Second, strength, strength, and more strength—doing what must be done, achieving real development, enhancing national power, and securing one’s own safety is the only real path forward. Third, if one sees the risks of relying on the U.S. but finds Moscow unappealing, then there is another path—one that, if followed diligently, can lead to the “serenity of the mountain breeze and the clarity of the river under the moon.”
What’s Next?
On Sunday, Zelensky told the BBC that despite the debacle, he considered Ukraine’s efforts “constructive” and remained “ready” to sign a minerals deal with the U.S.
Meanwhile, European leaders quickly rallied behind Zelensky in the aftermath of his tense exchange with Trump. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a new $2 billion military aid package, which includes 5,000 air defense missiles to help bolster Ukraine’s defenses amid ongoing Russian attacks.
