China's Role in Ukraine Conflict: Impartial Peacemaker or Strategic Beneficiary?

Chinese President Xi Jinping's offer to mediate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine is seen as a high-risk mission aimed at challenging the US as a global leader. However, China holds almost no credibility to be a neutral go-between for Ukraine and Russia, and the offer is viewed as an empty gesture and a tactical move to deepen its relationship with Russia. China's play to be a global peacemaker is also aimed at appealing to countries in the southern hemisphere and on the African continent that have stayed on the fence of Russia's war in Ukraine.