China’s envoy visited Ukraine but failed to find ground for talks

Chinese Special Envoy Li Hui met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine and told him that there is no panacea for the “crisis”, and that ending the war will require “creating conditions for a ceasefire and peace talks.”

China still calls the war that Russia launched against Ukraine a ‘crisis’, which shows a sign of bias in their position.

According to a report released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Li held separate meetings with President Zelenskyy, Presidential Administration chief Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and the heads of the ministries of infrastructure, energy, defence, and other relevant agencies.

He said China would help Ukraine “within its capabilities.” The report did not say how Zelensky responded, and the Ukrainian side should have reported on their meeting.

“China is willing to encourage the international community to form the greatest common denominator for resolving the Ukrainian crisis and make its efforts to stop the war and set a ceasefire and restore peace as soon as possible,” the statement declared.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine would not accept proposals that include the loss of territory or a frozen conflict.

Li Hui is a former ambassador to Moscow. He will also visit Poland, France and Germany as part of his tour.

According to a Western diplomat in Beijing familiar with Li’s itinerary, the Chinese special envoy has also added a visit to Brussels to his trip.

On April 26, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was the first conversation between the two leaders since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

During the conversation, the leaders agreed that China would send Li Hui as a special representative to Ukraine and Russia, Poland, France, and Germany to discuss ways to find a solution to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin a month after releasing a vague peace plan. Beijing is trying to position itself as a potential mediator in the war. China’s position has been met with scepticism from the West, which does not believe in its impartiality and neutrality, given Beijing’s relationship with Moscow.