Beijing is looking for a role as an honest broker in the Ukraine war as it plays America versus Russia in a conflict in which it professes neutrality.

The unlikely desire to be a peacemaker lies at the heart of Communist China’s 12-point proposal for a “political settlement” of the Ukraine crisis that has little chance of broad acceptance but may lay the groundwork for eventual talks between the NATO nations, led by Washington, and the Russians. China may even dream of winning President Zelensky’s endorsement of its ideas as long as the Chinese stop short of selling arms to the Russians.

“Not bad” was Mr. Zelensky’s surprisingly upbeat response to China’s proposal. That’s “something we can talk about,” he said, not ruling out the possibility that China may manage to make a difference in a final settlement. The question, as he noted, was “what follows the words … in what steps and where they will lead.”

Mr. Zelensky has come out with his own 10-point peace plan calling for complete withdrawal of Russian troops and “war crimes” trials of Russian leaders. Those demands won’t get anywhere, of course, but now he’s in effect saying, “Sure, I’ll talk to the Chinese, why not?”

Once you get past the opening boilerplate in the Chinese proposal about “respecting the neutrality of all nations,” “abandoning the Cold War mentality,” and “ceasing hostilities,” the verbiage comes down to what the Chinese really would like. What’s that exactly? The answer might well be the job of moderator — or, in President Xi’s wildest dreams, chairman — of a multi-sided peace conference.

China’s yearning for the title of moderator or broker, all coated by a veneer of impartiality, is obvious in the careful wording of the plea for talks. “Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis,” it says. “China will continue to play a constructive role in this regard.”

Considering Communist China’s latest refusal to condemn the Russian invasion by abstaining from a non-binding vote at the United Nations General Assembly calling for immediate withdrawal of Russian troops, Washington could be expected to block the idea of Beijing moderating peace talks. On the upside, though, China’s proposal does indicate Mr. Xi may hesitate to agree to sell arms to Russia if and when he goes to Moscow for a summit that President Putin, in what may be a mood of desperation, is urgently inviting him to attend.

The Americans seem convinced, based on unspecified intelligence sources, that the Chinese are talking to the Russians about arms sales. Washington has warned China of the disastrous consequences, to which China has suggested American fears are almost paranoid — or, in the words of a spokesman, “slander and smears.”

How, after all, could China agree to weaponizing the Russians for a prolonged war knowing the uproar that would ensue for “crossing the threshold” as an arms supplier? As the Chinese peace plan suggests, Beijing may be pro-Russian but it is still a disappointment to Mr. Putin in his quest for the weapons needed to keep his forces on the offensive.

Still, who can believe in China’s sincerity about offering its good offices in any  quest for peace? “China’s mention of a peace plan was met skeptically by U.S. and European officials,” the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe said. “China wants to be seen as very strong and as a leader of the global south and a peace promoter,” RFE quoted a senior European Union official as saying, but “Europe is not wooed.”

Others also had grave doubts about the Chinese proposal.

“We are already seeing reports that the proposal is dead on arrival in Ukraine, the U.S., and the West,” a retired American Army colonel now with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, David Maxwell, said. 

For one thing, he said in an email, the Chinese proposal “could be an attempt” to counter the narrative about China “not being a responsible member of the international community and not abiding by the rules based international order.” 

Mr. Maxwell believes the Chinese proposal “could also simultaneously be an attempt to divert attention from support to Russia and inoculate itself from criticism for support to Russia.” In the final analysis, he believes the proposal amounts to “political warfare with Chinese characteristics.” 

Officially, the Americans share such skepticism. The national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, appearing on CNN, had a simple response: “This war could end tomorrow if Russia stopped attacking Ukraine and withdrew its forces” — a notion that China did not mention in its proposal.