Labelling the war a “hot spot issue,” China’s Global Security Initiative,a Foreign Ministry white paper,called for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis through dialogue and negotiation by “addressing symptoms and root causes”.

The paper,which laid out the foreign affairs theory behind Xi’s upcoming speech,did not criticise Russia for its invasion and called for Latin American,Caribbean,South-east Asian,Central Asian,African,and Gulf countries to have a greater say in managing threats to regional security. The call for peace talks has drawn cautious support among some emerging countries,including Brazil.

“We maintain that all countries,big or small,strong or weak,rich or poor,are equal members of the international community,” the paper said. “There should be no interference in the internal affairs of countries.”

The treatise follows concerns from Western leaders that as the war drags on,they are losing international partners by failing to communicate its economic impact.

“In order to be credible and achieve something as a European or North American in Jakarta,New Delhi,Pretoria,Santiago de Chile,Brasilia or Singapore,it is not enough to invoke common values,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday.

Michael Butler,associate professor of political science at Clark University in the US,said China has seemingly benefited strategically from sitting on the sidelines and watching the US and its allies drain their arsenals and treasuries to support Ukraine.

“[But] we may be on the brink of a shift in Chinese strategy toward the war,” he said.

Chinese state media on Monday releaseda separate research paper on “US Hegemony and its Perils” timed to coincide with the Global Security Initiative. The paper sharpened Beijing’s attacks on Washington after months of steady improvement in bilateral relations were shattered by aChinese-made balloon flying over the United States.

The report accused the US of suppressing its opponents with economic coercion and “wilfully imperilling world peace”.

“This report seeks to expose the US abuse of hegemony in the political,military,economic,financial,technological,and cultural fields,and to draw greater international attention to the perils of the US practices to world peace and stability and the well-being of all peoples,” it said.

Wang’s visit to Russia is expected to be just the first stage in renewed Chinese engagement with Moscow. Russian state media reported on Monday that President Vladimir Putin had invited Xi to visit the capital in the northern spring.

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