US President Joe Biden attends a joint news briefing with Ukraine"s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in Kyiv, Ukraine Feb 20, 2023. [Photo/Agencies]

A cease-fire is the very first step to put an end to the Ukraine conflict. No matter which country brokers it, a cease-fire should be welcomed by all as the first step toward a negotiated end to hostilities.

However, President Xi Jinping"s ongoing pro-peace visit to Moscow has not been welcomed by the Joe Biden administration.

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A call for a cease-fire as a result of Xi"s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be "unacceptable", John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, told the media on the weekend ahead of the meeting between the Chinese and Russian leaders.

Even though Kyiv has clearly expressed its welcome to Beijing"s mediating efforts and the significance it attaches to the positive role China can play to end the Ukraine crisis as a responsible major country, Kirby claimed that a cease-fire at this point wouldn"t "serve Ukraine"s interest".

That"s a message that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, an ardent follower of Washington, will no doubt reinforce during his surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, hours after his visit to New Delhi.

Seeking to obfuscate what the Biden administration is doing, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, that "calling for a cease-fire that does not include the removal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory would effectively be supporting the ratification of Russian conquest".

A cease-fire is simply the suspension of active hostilities, it is not a final settlement. Washington no longer even bothers to put words in Kyiv"s mouth, as the US regards itself the only party that can decide when there will be a cessation of the fighting.

The comments of Kirby and Blinken have put very bright spotlights on the Joe Biden administration"s black-handed machinations to trigger and prolong the Ukraine conflict.

While the US seeks to ceaselessly instigate conflicts and sow the seeds of hatred, Beijing is taking concrete actions to resolve hotspot issues.

The contrasting worldviews and actions of Beijing and Washington should show the world, particularly the European Union in the case of Ukraine, which country is the real upholder of peace and stability, and which country a saboteur of the rules-based order.

The Beijing-brokered reconciliation between Riyadh and Teheran earlier this month has made Washington "uncomfortable" and also muffled those claiming Beijing"s 12-point position paper on a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis was "empty talk".

That Russian President Vladimir Putin told Xi during their meeting on Monday that Russia is open to talks with Ukraine, and welcomes China playing a constructive role in this regard, should be cause for optimism.

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