The Chinese government's proposal takes a clear anti-Western position, calling for the end of Western-led sanctions, which Beijing has long opposed. But it also implicitly criticizes some of the Russian army's tactics, such as blocking grain exports from Ukraine and endangering nuclear plants.

Given Beijing's close relationship with Moscow and tense relationship with the West, it's hard to imagine that China's leaders would try to push any real concessions on Putin. That means Western leaders are likely to be skeptical of Beijing's efforts to broker a peace.

Beijing's actions on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine demonstrate the growing role China's leaders wish to play on the global stage, as its government seeks to take a leading role in one of the world's most high-profile current crises — and to bolster its own geopolitical interests by doing so. Chinese officials abstained again in a United Nations General Assembly vote on Thursday that demanded Putin's forces withdraw from Ukraine.