China's Diplomatic Overture to Ukraine: What's Next?

Chinese President Xi Jinping called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since Russia invaded last year, emphasizing the need for a "political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis." Xi's reasons for the peace overture can be inferred from recent events and context, including his realization that his alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin was a strategic error and his desire to make politico-economic inroads in Europe. However, a diplomatic solution may be difficult to achieve without a higher power with the leverage to make it work, and both Putin and Zelensky still have some basis for thinking they could win the war.