Top Chinese envoy heads to Ukraine, Russia during Europe 'peace' tour

Li Hui, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs since 2019 and a former ambassador to Russia, will also travel to Poland, France, and Germany during the multiday trip "for in-depth communications with different parties for a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis."

A top Chinese envoy is starting a tour of Europe under which he will first go to Ukraine and then to Russia according to Al-Jazeera, which reported that Beijing aims to explore a "political settlement" on the Ukraine issue. According to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry last week, Li Hui, the country's special representative for Eurasian affairs since 2019 and a former ambassador to Russia, will also travel to Poland, France, and Germany during the multiday trip "for in-depth communications with different parties for a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis."

Li, a fluent Russian speaker, will be the most senior Chinese official to visit Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. His visit could coincide with the beginning of Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive to recapture territory seized and occupied by Russia, as per Al-Jazeera. The visit comes after the first known wartime call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which was held late last month.

The hour-long call was described as "long and meaningful" by Zelenskyy, and according to Xi, China's "core position is to promote peace via talks." China's 12-point peace plan, China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis, was presented on the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. Given Beijing's links to Russia, the proposal was viewed with some scepticism in Western capitals. It exhorted "both sides" to consent to a gradual de-escalation and give up the "Cold War mentality," reported Al-Jazeera.

Beijing did not respond to or criticise Moscow's invasion, which occurred less than three weeks after the two nations agreed to a "no limits" alliance. Xi visited Moscow in March to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the two signed a document pledging to usher in a "new era" in their bilateral relations, as per Al-Jazeera. Li has devoted his whole diplomatic career to dealing with the Soviet Union, Russia, and the governments that arose after it fell since joining the Department of Soviet and East European Affairs of the foreign ministry in 1975.

Since the Xi-Zelenskyy chat, a number of European leaders have visited Beijing and asked China to take a more active role in reining in Moscow's actions, notably French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Kyiv has maintained it will not consider making any territorial concessions to Russia and that it wants every square inch of its territory back. In September, last year, Russia said it had seized four other eastern Ukrainian areas. Russia attacked and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, a move that was widely condemned at the time, Al-Jazeera reported. (ANI)

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