How China plans to get more backers for its Ukraine peace plan at the UN

China wants to work behind the scenes at the United Nations to enlist international support for an agreement to end the war in Ukraine on terms favorable to Russia, according to a Ukrainian government document.

The Chinese government came into this week’s U.N. General Assembly with a plan to seek support from countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa that would freeze battle lines in the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, according to the document obtained by POLITICO.

The U.S. is opposed to the deal and Ukrainian officials are alarmed by it — so much so that they have circulated the document among diplomats gathered in New York for the UNGA.

In its proposal, China is trying to persuade diplomats to support peace talks focused on “taking into account the security interests of each country” with the objective of “preventing Russia from losing” the war, according to the document.

The paper, which was drafted by the Ukrainian government ahead of this week’s high-level U.N. meetings, does not say how Kyiv is aware of China’s strategy. Ukraine is also pushing on multiple fronts this week to dissuade allies from embracing the China-backed plan. Ukraine’s U.N. mission in New York did not respond to a request for comment on the document.

Beijing’s game plan in New York involves enlisting the support of some two dozen countries “to form some kind of ‘core’ group which in the future can quickly expand [to include] other countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia,” the document said.

China seeks their endorsement for its plan to initiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine based around a China-Brazil joint six-point proposal released in May. That document urges “no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no provocation by any party.” That would allow Russia to continue hostilities at their current intensity as well as its occupation of Ukrainian territory. The six-point proposal hinges on “an international peace conference … recognized by both Russia and Ukraine.”

The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment on whether it was working to rally such backers at the U.N. General Assembly, but repeated its desire for a diplomatic solution to the war. China … “supports all efforts conducive to a peaceful resolution of the crisis,” said embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu.

The Ukrainian document is being circulated among diplomats and officials at the United Nations General Assembly this week. One European official at the U.N. said that China’s proposed peace plan was being discussed at the gathering, but did not say anything about a concerted lobbying effort by China.

U.S. officials have continued to stress that any Ukraine peace process requires Kyiv’s full backing. “A just and last peace requires Ukraine’s full participation and assent … with Russia paying to fix the damage it’s caused,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Tuesday. EU officials have expressed similar sentiments.

But Ukraine is clearly worried about China’s plan gaining traction. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used his address to the General Assembly on Wednesday to slam the China-Brazil peace plan as a “colonial” effort. Ukrainian diplomats are also urging U.S. lawmakers to formally reject China’s plan, Punchbowl News reported Monday

China’s pursuit of India’s support could create particular trouble for Ukraine. Kyiv has been hoping that New Delhi may help broker a peace pact it can live with. The Indian embassy in Washington declined to comment.

If China is able to get a large group of countries to support its proposal, it could allow Beijing to tout it as evidence that the “world majority” favors Beijing’s terms for a Russia-Ukraine peace talks, according to the document. A formal unveiling of the peace talks plan will follow next month at a meeting of the BRICS grouping of emerging economies — centered around Brazil, India, Russia and China — in Kazan, Russia, next month, the document said.

The Russian and Brazilian embassies in Washington didn’t respond to requests for comment. The State Department declined to comment, and the White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Beijing’s diplomatic moves coincide with Zelenskyy’s effort this week to garner support at the U.N. and in Washington for his “victory plan” to end the war.

For the moment, Ukraine’s allies aren’t buying China as a disinterested mediator. U.S. officials have accused China of extending the war with military assistance to Russia, allegations Beijing has denied.

And at the U.N., Zelenskyy is the one many are rallying around.

“The only peace plan we accept at the moment is President Zelenskyy’s,” Estonia’s President Alar Karis told POLITICO on Wednesday.

Nick Taylor-Vaisey contributed to this report.