The hope is that China will more or less distance itself from Putin. President Xi obviously doesn't want to risk the Chinese export machine. The EU may grow tired of importing for instance Chinese electric cars that were produced on the basis of cheap Russian oil and gas. The only way out of this conflict may be to accept the de facto loss of the four Ukrainian territories that have been annexed Sept. 30th. Offer Zelensky a fast-track to EU membership. The Ukraine needn't become member of Nato then. Those four territories will no doubt regret that they have become Russian then, particularly since the sanctions that are imposed by the West will remain of course. Putin already did enough to make Nato expand eastward, with Sweden and Finland joining.