China right to not attend Swiss peace summit

China has announced it will not participate in the Summit on Peace in Ukraine to be held in Switzerland on Saturday and Sunday, because to broker peace both parties to a conflict need to be present at the negotiation table but the organizers have not invited Russia to the summit. Yet, instead of criticizing the organizers for their mistake and bias, some Western politicians and observers claim China is not attending the summit because it stands with Russia and does not want the conflict to end.

In response, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on June 3 that China attaches great importance to the "peace meeting" in Switzerland and has been in close contact with Switzerland, Ukraine and other countries, but has repeatedly stressed that the peace summit needs to meet three important elements — recognition from both Russia and Ukraine, equal participation of all parties, and fair discussion on all peace plans. Since the meeting does not seem to satisfy these three requirements, China has decided to stay away from it.

First, China's stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been consistent and transparent. It remains committed to promoting peace talks, and has made its stance on the issue clear in a document, titled "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis", which was released in February 2023. China believes that in any conflict, third parties can only communicate with the conflicting parties to help deescalate the situation and reach a cease-fire. But only the conflicting parties can agree to a cease-fire.