Ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping says peace plan to end Ukraine war addresses concerns of all

Making his first visit abroad after his endorsement as President and head of the military for an unprecedented third five-year term by China's Parliament this month, Xi is on a three-day visit to Moscow from March 20.

Ahead of his crucial talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 20 highlighted his peace plan to end the raging Ukraine war, saying it takes into account the "legitimate" concerns of all parties and reflects the broadest common understanding of the international community.

Making his first visit abroad after his endorsement as President and head of the military for an unprecedented third five-year term by China's Parliament this month, Xi on a three-day visit to Moscow starting on Monday is due to hold talks with Mr. Putin on Tuesday during which he was expected to pitch for peace talks to end the Ukraine conflict.

"Russia was the first country I visited after I was elected President 10 years ago," Xi said in an article titled "Forging Ahead to Open a New Chapter of China-Russia Friendship, Cooperation and Common Development" published in Russia's newspaper Russian Gazette on Monday.

Xi, 69, who maintained close ties with Mr. Putin during his ten-year tenure stitching together with him an anti-U.S. alliance, said he visited Moscow eight times in the last 10 years and met the Russian leader over 40 times during bilateral and multilateral occasions.

While the thrust of his article was on further developing the strategic ties against the “damaging acts of hegemony, domination and bullying”, an apparent dig at the U.S., it also highlighted Xi's peace plan to end the Ukraine war.

Buoyed by China’s successful mediatory role in bringing a peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia recently following which the two warring Arab countries agreed to resume diplomatic ties, Xi now focusses on brokering a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war in a bid to enhance Beijing’s role in global diplomacy.

“Since last year, there has been an all-round escalation of the Ukraine crisis,” Xi said in his article. Significantly, Xi is the first world leader to meet Mr. Putin after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against the Russian leader accusing him of committing war crimes in Ukraine.