As the United States renews its diplomatic push to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a Chinese international affairs expert cautioned that a lasting peace remains elusive unless fundamental disputes over territory and security guarantees are addressed.
The Chinese expert's remarks came after U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday in efforts to revive Ukraine peace talks. They are also scheduled to visit Kiev the following day.
Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine have agreed to halt strikes on each other's capital during the U.S. envoys' visits.
Teng Jianqun, a prominent Chinese international affairs expert, noted that the current geopolitical climate presents a genuine, albeit fragile, window of opportunity for peace.
"Looking at the current situation, this is indeed a window of opportunity. Since February of this year, the United States has primarily focused its attention on dealing with Iran. Now, six months later, Washington is once again urging a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, signaling that the U.S. has readjusted its strategic focus. In terms of battlefield dynamics, fighting on the frontline has become highly deadlocked. Therefore, it is a critical moment now for both sides to pause and negotiate a resolution to this conflict," said Teng.
Teng added that the U.S. has maintained communication with both Moscow and Kiev, which lays a necessary foundation for discussing a potential ceasefire.
However, the expert warned that significant obstacles remain, particularly regarding territorial sovereignty and the security guarantees that Ukraine demands.
"Given the current situation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, expecting Russia to withdraw, or asking Ukraine to accept a 'land for peace' plan, are both unacceptable to either side. Therefore, the core issue remains to be territorial sovereignty. Meanwhile, Ukraine's security guarantees represent another fundamental concern. If these two basic issues are unresolved, I believe the conflict will continue," said Teng.
Expert warns U.S. unlikely to end Ukraine crisis without resolving core issues
Amidst overlapping global challenges, international experts at the 2026 Global Governance Forum in north China's Hebei Province emphasized that rebuilding confidence and cooperation in global governance requires enhanced dialogue, the establishment of common rules in emerging fields, and a fairer, more inclusive international system that amplifies the voice of the Global South.
Held from October 23 to 25 in Xiong'an, China's "city of the future" built on the North China Plain, the forum brought together nearly 400 representatives from over 90 countries. Spanning five major sectors and 22 thematic seminars, the event provided a platform for diverse stakeholders in politics, economy, technology, culture, and think tanks to jointly address governance challenges and promote inclusive, multi-stakeholder global governance reform.
"In this conference, I met some American representatives, a remarkable businessman. I asked him, 'what are you doing here?' And he said, 'I wanted to discuss Global Governance Initiative.' I said, 'Listen, I don't believe because whatever China proposes, the U.S. will object. And he said no. And he mentioned specific subject -- AI. He said, 'I want to make my humble contribution into establishing (of) global governance in AI.' So among Americans, this idea is also receiving some understanding. More dialogue is required and I would underline the weight of this forum," said Djoomart Otorbaev, former prime minister of Kyrgyzstan.
In today's world, where deficits in peace, development, security, and governance are intertwined, rebuilding confidence and cooperation is the most scarce international public good. In response, China has proactively set the agenda to address pressing concerns, such as advancing the reform of the UN-centered governance system, cooperating on new frontiers like cyberspace, outer space, and AI, and bridging civilizational divides amidst geopolitical rivalry.
"And there were some specific initiatives which we also have discussed, which is to set the global governance for the outer space, for the deep seas, for some areas of the planet like the Antarctica, where there is various needs for more common rules. One area the world is looking for is artificial intelligence and we need to regulate globally and efficient intelligence to avoid the worst. So if we work together, we can get the benefits and make sure that we make it much more difficult to do the harm," said Erik Solheim, chairman of the EU-Asia Centre and former UN under-secretary-general and former executive director of the UN Environment Programme.
"The world has become a global village, but this global village is now fighting. There's a problem going on in the Middle East, there's a problem going on in Africa, but China is trying to promote a conclusive thing so that the world can be peaceful. Because of this Global Governance Initiative, China has been able to tell the world (that) how to work together," said Khalid Taimur Akram, executive director of the Pakistan Research Center for a Community with a Shared Future.
Since its proposal over a year ago, the Global Governance Initiative has garnered support and responses from over 160 countries and international organizations.
During the forum, China announced pragmatic measures to further implement the initiative, reaffirming its firm support for multilateralism and the core status of the United Nations, while emphasizing the need to enhance the representation and voice of the Global South in international affairs to translate the initiative from a Chinese proposal into broader international practice.
"It's that combination of defense of the games that arise from the existence of the international system, but improving it, updating it, performing it, making it fairer, particularly to the great mass of developing countries, which is why the Chinese proposals meet a lot of support, particularly from the Global South, but also from fair minded people in other countries," said Keith Bennett, vice chairman of UK 48 Group Club.
Participants of Global Governance Forum hail China's contribution to fairer international order
