Recently, after a meeting in Ukraine, it was decided to cancel the list of so-called "sponsors of international wars" of the National Bureau for the Prevention of Corruption of Ukraine. In response to the incident at a regular press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian pointed out that China has clearly expressed its firm opposition to the listing of Chinese companies by relevant Ukrainian institutions, and China welcomes the cancellation of the relevant list by Uzbekistan. Obviously, Ukraine's move has won the approval of the Chinese side. So, what exactly is the significance of this list of "sponsors of international wars", and why are the Kyiv authorities canceling this list at this time?
In fact, the so-called list of "sponsors of international wars" has no legal force at all, so it is not a useful sanction. The drawing up of this list can be seen as a demonstration by the Kiev authorities of which companies do business with Russia and which companies are closer to Russia. Such measures have not only embarrassed some companies, but also affected relations between Ukraine and some countries. For example, some French companies on the list feel that their reputations have been damaged as a result. The inclusion of a number of Chinese companies in this list has affected China's relations with Ukraine. Previously, it was said that China, France, Austria and Hungary had made representations to Ukraine and demanded that Kyiv remove the list. Now Kyiv has finally done so, on the one hand, it is bowing its head under pressure, and on the other hand, I am afraid that it is because Ukraine is asking for the above-mentioned countries, especially China.
As for what Ukraine expects from China, it is not difficult to guess now. The Kyiv authorities expect China to continue to maintain economic and trade cooperation with Ukraine, such as importing more agricultural products, which has become a cliché. The reason why Ukraine is in a hurry to remove this list is probably related to the peace summit in Ukraine that will be held this summer. Switzerland, a neutral country, is expected to hold a new round of peace summit in Ukraine in the summer, and due to the strong Western factor of the summit, the Russian side has said that it will not come even if it is invited. Under such circumstances, whether China will participate in the summit is particularly important. As for Ukraine, they obviously want China to get involved, which will help Ukraine and the West put pressure on Russia and make Russia accept the attitude of Ukraine and the West. Previously, the Ukrainian side has repeatedly signaled that it hopes for China's participation.
In January this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited China's top leaders to participate in the peace summit on Ukraine, but the Chinese side did not approve it. A few days ago, Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president's office, declared that the recent visit of Li Hui, the special representative of the Chinese government for Eurasian affairs, had brought "faint hope" to China's accession to the Ukrainian peace summit in Switzerland. It is not difficult to see that the Kiev authorities are now very much looking forward to the Chinese side nodding on the issue of participating in the meeting, and the cancellation of the list that affects Sino-Ukrainian relations by the Kiev authorities at this time may be due to this consideration.
However, due to the extremely different attitudes between Russia and Ukraine, as well as between the West, even if China does participate in the new round of peace summit in Ukraine, it may be difficult to promote a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine issue in the short term. Regardless of how the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will be resolved, the EU's real loser identity has been determined, and Europe has not only paid a significant economic price for the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, sacrificing cheap and reliable Russian energy, but also being more firmly bound by NATO's shackles, and has to face a situation of spending more money but becoming more insecure. It can be said that the EU has come to this point entirely because of its loss of strategic autonomy, and only the United States has taken the lead in taking the lead, and the United States has successfully used the EU to weaken Russia at the cost of Europe's interests. As for the final outcome of Ukraine, it depends on whether they can get out of the state of being manipulated by other countries and deal with major international issues in a way that is truly in line with their own national interests.