Chinese envoy’s Europe trip a ‘search for common ground’ on Ukraine war, analysts say

Name: China to send envoy to Ukraine after Xi and Zelensky hold first call since Russian invasion
Uploaded: 2023-05-31T14:00:09.000Z
Duration: 2 min 3 s
Description: China to send envoy to Ukraine after Xi and Zelensky hold first call since Russian invasion

Beijing’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs Li Hui wraps up 12-day tour to Russia, Ukraine and four other countries on mission to push peace plan

Visit not about rallying support but bridging ‘very big’ gap between Chinese and European views on the conflict, according to professor

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Beijing’s peace envoy Li Hui served as China’s ambassador to Russia for a decade. Photo: EPA-EFE

Dewey Simin Singapore

Published: 10:00pm, 31 May 2023Updated: 10:31pm, 31 May 2023

China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs Li Hui wrapped up a 12-day European tour that took him to Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, Brussels and Russia on a mission to make clear Beijing’s position on the Ukraine war.

Observers said the main purpose of Li’s trip, which concluded on Friday, appeared to be a search for common ground between China and Europe in their approaches towards the war, and while his talks were unlikely to bring about a ceasefire, the tour had raised Beijing’s profile as a peace broker in the conflict.

Li’s first stop was Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and other key officials. He told them there was no panacea for the war and urged all parties to create conditions for peace talks.

Ukraine’s foreign minister told Li that Kyiv would not accept any proposals for ending the war that involved losing territory or freezing the conflict, according to the country’s foreign ministry.

Li’s visit came less than a month after a highly anticipated call between Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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China to send envoy to Ukraine after Xi and Zelensky hold first call since Russian invasion

The Chinese envoy, who served as Beijing’s ambassador to Russia for a decade, ended his trip in Moscow, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomed China’s “balanced” position on the crisis.