Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held more than three hours of talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Guangzhou, a source from the Ukrainian delegation told Reuters on July 24.
It is Kuleba's first trip to China since the outbreak of the full-scale war and the highest-ranking Ukrainian official to visit the country since 2022. Kuleba and Wang previously met in February at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
The talks "lasted for over three hours in total, longer than planned. This was a very deep and concrete conversation," the source told Reuters.
Wang "pointed out that the Ukrainian crisis has entered its third year," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website. China typically avoids referring to the full-scale war as such, instead often opting to use the term crisis or conflict.
"China has always been firmly committed to promoting a political solution to the crisis," the statement continued.
While acknowledging that the "conditions and timing are not yet ripe," China supports "all efforts conducive to peace and (is) willing to continue to play a constructive role in ceasefire and resumption of peace talks."
The statement added that "China is concerned about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine."
Separately, the statement said that "Ukraine highly appreciates the positive and constructive role played by China in promoting peace and maintaining international order." It was unclear if the sentiment was attributed directly to Kuleba.
Kuleba said in a statement posted by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry that "Russian aggression is not only an obstacle to Ukraine's development. It also hinders international stability, the development of good neighborly relations, and, in particular, the development of trade between China and Europe."
China has positioned itself as neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war but has simultaneously deepened economic ties with Moscow and backed the country against Western sanctions. It has also shaped up to be Russia's leading source of dual-use goods that feed the Russian defense industry.
Kyiv has repeatedly appealed to China to use its sway over Moscow to help bring an end to the war, but these efforts have been largely unsuccessful as the East Asian country snubbed the June global peace summit in Switzerland.
President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted China over supposedly trying to sabotage the summit efforts, drawing a rebuke from Beijing. China proposed its own alternative peace plan, which would include a conference recognized by both Kyiv and Moscow.
Ukraine's Ambassador to Singapore, Kateryna Zelenko, said in June that Kyiv would consider attending if the talks are based on the principles of the "U.N. Charter and international law."
Nate Ostiller
(Updated: )
