Western leaders have been looking to Beijing in the hope of persuading China – as Russia’s most powerful ally and key trading partner – to use its influence on Russia over Ukraine. First US diplomats urged China to persuade Russia not to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Next, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was in Beijing on November 4, where he urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to use his influence to persuade Russia to end the war in Ukraine. The two leaders also agreed that Russia’s talk of using nuclear weapons is ‘irresponsible and highly dangerous”, Scholz disclosed. However, while saying …