Steinmeier urges China to use its influence on Russia to end war against Ukraine

Frank-Walter Steinmeier asked China to use its diplomatic influence to help end Russia’s war against Ukraine. He called for China to persuade Russia to cease its attacks and enter serious negotiations. His appeal matters because China has close ties with Russia and holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Steinmeier made the request during a speech at Peking University. He said China’s position gives it useful channels for engagement with Moscow. He also argued that the war violates basic international rules, including the principle that borders cannot be changed by force. China, he said, should work with others to help stop the suffering.

The appeal comes after almost five years of war and hundreds of thousands of deaths. Steinmeier warned that continued fighting threatens Europe, trade, supply chains, and energy and food security. He wants China to use its available influence now, especially as winter approaches and attacks continue against Ukrainian heat, water, and electricity.

The United Nations Security Council is the UN’s central body for dealing with threats to international peace and security. It can debate conflicts, call for action, and adopt resolutions. Its permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This structure gives those countries a stronger voice than ordinary members.

China’s permanent membership matters because it has a permanent seat and veto power. A veto can prevent a substantive council resolution from passing, even when most other members support it. China also participates continuously in the council’s diplomacy, rather than serving only for a limited term. These powers do not automatically force Russia to act, but they provide important diplomatic weight.

The article connects that institutional position with China’s close relationship with Russia. Steinmeier therefore asked Beijing to use both its council role and its direct ties to press Moscow toward serious negotiations. China’s influence is political, not a guaranteed command over Russia.

According to the article, Russia’s war against Ukraine had continued for almost five years when Steinmeier spoke. He emphasized that this period was longer than the First World War. The conflict’s length shows why he described the suffering as prolonged and why he urged outside powers to help bring it to an end.

The article reports hundreds of thousands of deaths. That is a broad figure, not a precise count, so it does not identify an exact total or separate military and civilian deaths. Steinmeier also referred to daily attacks on heat, water, and electricity. These attacks add an ongoing humanitarian burden beyond the deaths already recorded.

The war was still continuing as winter approached. Steinmeier said people were longing for an end to the suffering and expected countries to use the means available to them. His appeal to China reflects the urgency created by the conflict’s duration, death toll, and continuing attacks on essential services.

China may be able to influence Russia through two relationships identified in the article. First, it has close ties with Moscow. Those ties create direct political channels through which Chinese leaders can communicate their concerns and urge negotiations. Second, China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, giving it a continuing role in international diplomacy.

The key mechanism is persuasion rather than automatic control. China could use private discussions, public statements, and its position in the Security Council to argue that Russia should cease its attacks. Steinmeier asked Beijing to combine these forms of influence and work with others. The article does not describe specific economic penalties or promises China might use.

Whether this pressure succeeds remains uncertain. Russia has chosen confrontation despite Germany’s earlier efforts to build a stable security relationship with Moscow. Steinmeier also argued that a prolonged war harms China’s own economic interests by threatening trade routes, supply chains, energy security, and food security.

The article presents the war as a problem far beyond Ukraine’s borders. Steinmeier said it threatens peace throughout Europe. He also warned that a prolonged conflict can damage the systems that connect economies and deliver essential goods. That makes the war a security crisis and an economic risk at the same time.

The mechanism is disruption. Fighting and instability can threaten international trade routes and interrupt supply chains. They can also put energy and food security under pressure. The article links these risks directly to China’s economic interests, suggesting that Beijing has reasons to support efforts that reduce the conflict and restore stability.

The immediate reality remains serious. After almost five years, people are still facing daily attacks on heat, water, and electricity, especially as winter approaches. If the war continues, the article indicates that suffering and wider insecurity could persist. Steinmeier therefore urged China to use its influence to help bring about negotiations and an end to the fighting.

After the Cold War, Germany spent decades trying to build a stable and reliable security architecture with Russia. The aim, as described by Steinmeier, was to create a dependable security relationship rather than permanent confrontation. Such stability mattered because Russia’s actions could affect peace across Europe.

The relationship broke down when Moscow chose confrontation, according to Steinmeier. He presented that choice as a rejection of Germany’s long-term effort to build cooperation. He also recalled that an airport in central Germany had been targeted by drones several months earlier. Evidence about those responsible led to Russia, adding a concrete security concern.

This history shapes Steinmeier’s current warning. Germany’s earlier strategy did not prevent Russia’s aggression against Ukraine or the wider threat to Europe. The breakdown suggests that future security arrangements must account for confrontation as well as cooperation. Steinmeier’s appeal to China reflects an effort to use other diplomatic relationships to help end the war.

The principle protects the basic structure of international order. Borders are not supposed to change simply because one state uses force against another. States are also not supposed to lose their freedom and independence because a stronger neighbor demands it. Without these rules, military power could become the main basis for deciding territory and political choices.

In the article, Steinmeier applies this principle directly to Russia’s war against Ukraine. He says the invasion attacks the idea that borders must not be changed by force. He also says Ukrainians must be able to choose their own path to the future, just as Chinese, German, and other peoples want to do. The mechanism is national self-determination: people should decide their country’s direction.

The principle matters beyond Ukraine because breaking it can weaken trust in international rules. Steinmeier warned that Russia’s war threatens peace throughout Europe. Supporting Ukraine’s right to choose its future therefore also means defending a wider order in which states can remain independent and secure.