Ukraine war is a test and ‘great opportunity’ for China to raise diplomatic profile, says analyst

The conflict will have a greater geopolitical significance than the 9/11 terror attacks or 2008 global financial crisis, event at Renmin University told

Professor Li Wei says Beijing is unlikely to stay on the sidelines, and playing a ‘constructive role’ will help boost its global profile and standing

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A man looks at a billboard which reads: ‘We are together with Ukraine’; outside the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, China. Photo: Simon Song

Laura Zhou

Published: 6:00am, 23 Mar 2022Updated: 11:42am, 23 Mar 2022

The Russian-Ukraine conflict is a test for Chinese diplomacy, but playing a constructive role will offer a “great opportunity” to raise its profile on the world stage in future, a diplomatic observer has said.

Li Wei, an international relations professor with Renmin University in Beijing, told an online seminar the war was a “rare event” with greater geopolitical significance than the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 financial crisis.

He also argued that as a result of China’s emergence as a global power, it was unlikely that Beijing would stay on the sidelines but would play a role “either actively or passively”.

“It would be a great opportunity for China if it could play a constructive role in such a very complex game of great powers, and this opportunity could even shape the entire diplomatic landscape and external environment of China for years to come,” Li told the event on China-US relations hosted by the university on Tuesday.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this week that China had a role to play in the crisis.