Chinese trade expo cancels Ukrainian forum promoting post-invasion investment opportunities
- Organisers of a state-sponsored trade fair in Beijing inexplicably cancelled a forum promoting cooperation between Ukraine and China on Monday
- In a speech expected to be delivered at the forum, Ukrainian diplomats planned to say ‘reconstruction opens vast investment opportunities’
A state-backed trade expo in Beijing cancelled a forum organised by the Ukrainian embassy at the last minute on Monday, in which diplomats from Kyiv were set to promote “vast investment opportunities” for Chinese companies following Russia’s invasion.
The speech by Ukrainian diplomats was expected to be given at a seminar aimed at advancing cooperation between Ukraine and China and would have offered a rare public discussion on bilateral ties since Russia invaded Ukraine more than six months ago.
However, the doors of the forum at the China National Convention Centre were locked without official explanation on Monday, and the event was purged from the official website.
Officials with the Ukrainian embassy and the government-sponsored China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), which was hosting the event, confirmed the cancellation when approached by the South China Morning Post.
A Ukrainian diplomat, who asked not to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter, said the decision to cancel the event was made by CIFTIS on Monday morning, but did not provide further details.
A CIFTIS manager in charge of conference activities told the Post the event had been suspended because “there had been a last-minute change”, without elaborating.
After the cancellation, the Ukrainian embassy posted a speech written for the forum on China’s Twitter-like social media platform Weibo.