My Take | China is playing the Ukraine peace mission card again. Why now?
- Special envoy Li Hui has embarked on another trip to Europe as the conflict grinds into a third year
- The efforts are aimed at countering criticism that Beijing has no intention of seeing an early end to the war
So what has motivated Beijing to dispatch another so-called peace mission, when it struggles to deal with economic difficulties and other pressing challenges at home and abroad?
Much has changed for Beijing and its relations with the warring parties and the US-led West since Li, China’s former long-time ambassador to Moscow, made his first trip in May last year.
Li’s latest trip was reportedly “hastily arranged”, according to Bloomberg, and came amid mounting calls from Ukraine and other European countries in the past few weeks for China to play a greater role to end Russia’s aggression.
Kyiv, which is scrambling to maintain international support after its failed counteroffensive and delayed military supplies from Washington, has appealed to Beijing repeatedly.