President Macron, visiting China, is carving out a distinctive position on the war in Ukraine, one that may well be at variance with that of Washington and other NATO nations.

Meeting President Xi, Mr. Macron isn’t applauding China’s formula for bringing about peace but seems to think China may play a seriously positive role. That was evident when he expressed confidence in Mr. Xi’s ability to “bring Russia to reason and everyone back to the negotiating table.”

While those words to Mr. Xi in the Great Hall of the People at Beijing might appear sensible on one level, on quite another they managed to give credibility to China’s 12-point proposal for peace that American policymakers more or less scorn. Mr. Macron’s call for Mr. Xi to “bring Russia to its senses” suggests that he believes the Chinese leader is seriously neutral and only wants to play the role of honest broker.

As far as Washington is concerned, China is far from impartial in its outlook on Ukraine, as Mr. Xi would like the world to believe. In fact, he’s clearly on the side of Russia, as indicated by the failure of China’s 12-point peace proposal to suggest Russia give up portions of Ukraine that Russian forces have long since overrun.

Merely by appealing to Mr. Xi to work toward peace in Ukraine, Mr. Macron is crediting the Chinese leader with having a real desire to do so. The Chinese proposal, though, may be seen as carefully calibrated to help bring about a peace on Russia’s terms while Russia pumps oil and natural gas into China at discount prices.

In that context, Mr. Xi’s call for entering peace talks “as soon as possible” may be seen as meaning the lines of control should be frozen, conceding territory to Russia that may never be negotiated, much less returned.

That prospect was enough for Mr. Xi to accord Mr. Macron the highest-level welcome, beginning with a 21-gun salute, all intended to draw him away from America and other NATO allies that may not share his confidence in China’s underlying good intentions and peace-minded motivations.

What’s in it for Mr. Macron and France? The answer lies in the make-up of the delegation accompanying him, including executives of Airbus, the heavy manufacturer Alstom, and the energy company Electricite de France, EDF.

On the first day of his three-day visit, Airbus arranged for the sale of 160 planes to a Chinese company, EDF reached agreements with the China Energy Investment Corporation and CGN, the Chinese energy company, and more deals were expected either during his visit or in coming weeks and months.

The Chinese, though, could not be so confident of their rapport with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, also invited to show the Europeans were sticking together in Mr. Macron’s encouragement of China’s role in resolving the war.

Ms. von der Leyen was heartened by Mr. Xi saying he might call the Ukraine president, Volodymyr Zelensky, “when the time is right,” but warned against China selling arms to Russia.

For China to be “arming the aggressor,” Ms. von der Leyen said, would “significantly harm the relationship between the European Union and China.” She did have to point out the obvious, that China buoys the Russian economy, and war effort, as by far the biggest importer of Russian oil and natural gas.

By honoring Mr. Macron with the most flattering kind of welcome, Mr. Xi clearly supported President Putin’s dream of dividing NATO nations from any semblance of a united front supporting Ukrainians against his forces in Ukraine.

Mr, Macron, while apparently signing on to China’s peace proposal, found common cause with Mr. Xi in decrying any notions of the use of nuclear weapons, including tactical nukes that Mr. Putin has suggested might be fired from bases in Belarus.

At a press conference with Mr. Xi, however, Mr. Macron remained clear about opposing the Russian invasion. The Russians, he said, had violated the UN charter and undermined “a safe and stable Europe.” Pointedly, Mr. Xi had no response.