[tomder55]

Last month China proposed a peace plan for the Ukraine war.
China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis (fmprc.gov.cn)

Since then Xi has been active as a peace maker .

He brokered a deal with Iran and the Saudi's
Archrivals Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to end years of hostilities in deal mediated by China | CNN

This caught the US flat footed . They tried to downplay the deal.

Xi had talks with Russian ally Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko. He plans on meeting with Putin next week

Yesterday it was announced he plans to speak with Zelensky after his meeting with Putin.
Xi is considering visiting other European countries as part of his trip to Russia.

But is China an honest broker ? As the US contemplates it's navel ;China is offering the world an alternative to US leadership . He has projected US leadership as Cold War containment mentality ;a military-centric coalition . He offers economic ties.

Western countries—led by the U.S.—have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression against us, bringing unprecedentedly severe challenges to our country’s development

Why Xi Jinping Blames U.S. Containment for China’s Troubles - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

China was Ukraine’s largest trading partner before the war .It imported roughly a third of their corn production. It is in China's interest for the war to end.
Given the fact that both sides appear to have run out of ammo without the means to replace it any time soon. Xi is seizing the moment. China is the only country in the world in a position to offer Putin the security guarantees that he demands as part of any post-war deal. And it is also the only country with serious diplomatic and strategic leverage over Moscow .

The question becomes will China use the threat of supplying weapons to Russia as a tool to force Ukraine to the table ?
What would the west do given that it appears the west is reluctant to take the steps necessary for Ukraine to win ?

McCarthy rejects Zelenskyy’s invitation to Ukraine - POLITICO