When will Xi call Zelenskiy?

Chinese President Xi Jinping still hasn’t called the Ukrainian leader. [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Nearly 14 months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Chinese President Xi Jinping has yet to pick up the phone to call President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. There was talk of a potential chat soon after Xi visited Moscow last month to meet with Vladimir Putin. Zelenskiy has said he’s ready to host Xi in person. And yet ... nothing. Key Reading: - [G-7 Displays United Front on China After Macron Controversy]( - [G-7 to Back Ukraine Indefinitely, Seeks Stability With China]( - [China’s Defense Minister Lauds Putin for ‘Promoting World Peace’]( - [Macron Wants China’s Help to Bring Russia, Ukraine to the Table]( It’s not from a lack of interest in Kyiv, even as Ukraine is dubious about Xi’s fuzzy blueprint for talks on the war. Xi appears to be drawing closer to Putin, with his defense minister going so far as to praise the Russian president — wanted for war crimes — for “promoting world peace.” It’s somewhat puzzling given Xi is keen to portray himself as a statesman, and China as an alternate power center to the US. He’s recently hosted a clutch of senior European officials — including French President Emmanuel Macron — plus leaders from Africa and Latin America. He helped bring Saudi Arabia and Iran to the table. Macron is eager to enlist China in a group push on a potential framework for talks between Russia and Ukraine — even as Kyiv gears up for a fresh offensive on the ground. But Xi can’t really play a leading role without speaking with Zelenskiy. So what is holding him back? It might be Xi feels he gets enough upside from circulating his blueprint, versus signing up to be an actual party to peace talks. By stepping in directly he’d be on the hook, risking getting his hands burned by failure. In some ways the conflict may also suit Xi even if he has not directly endorsed Putin for his war. He has used it to drive a wedge between Ukraine’s vocal supporters among Group of Seven nations and those in Africa, Asia and Latin America who have taken a more ambiguous stance. The call may yet come. But it’s telling that Xi has been so reluctant to make it. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( Zelenskiy attends the funeral of a fallen military commander in Kyiv on March 10. Photographer: Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg Coming Soon: Understand power in Washington through the lens of business, government and the economy. [Sign up now]( for the new Bloomberg Washington Edition newsletter delivered weekdays. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines Putin visited Russian troops in two occupied regions of Ukraine, according to video released today by the Kremlin. [His appearance]( in the Luhansk and Kherson regions, where he was briefed by army commanders, comes as Ukrainian forces prepare to mount a counteroffensive that Kyiv hopes will provide a decisive breakthrough. - Follow our rolling coverage of the war in Ukraine [here](. WATCH: Putin visiting occupied Ukraine.​​​​​​ Source: Russian Pool/Bloomberg Sudan’s army rejected the declaration of a 24-hour [humanitarian truce]( by a paramilitary group that it’s been battling for control over the North Africa nation. Several days of fighting have killed more than 180 people and sparked intense diplomatic efforts to prevent a full-blown civil war. - Someone shot at a US diplomatic convoy in Sudan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, but everyone in the group [was safe](. - Foreign power brokers are jostling for position in Sudan. Read about who’s doing what [here](. Ukraine’s crop exports are [under threat]( again after Kyiv said Russia blocked vessel inspections under a key Black Sea safe-passage deal for a second day. At the same time, neighboring Poland, Hungary and Slovakia banned imports of Ukrainian grain over concerns the supplies are hurting their domestic markets. The biggest US intelligence leak in a decade has prompted the Pentagon to begin culling distribution lists for sensitive [national security]( information. The FBI arrested 21-year-old Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira last week in connection with the disclosure of highly classified documents including maps, intelligence updates and an assessment of Russia’s war in Ukraine. 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Students around the globe are increasingly questioning the economic return from education, but as [Bibhudatta Pradhan]( and [Vrishti Beniwal]( report, nowhere is the problem more [complex]( than India. Young people are paying for two or three degrees in the hope of landing a job, yet half of graduates are unemployable because thousands of small private colleges employ teachers with little training, use outdated curriculums, and offer no practical experience or job placements. Signage for RKDF University in Bhopal. Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Politics newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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