Reuters: Top Chinese envoy to visit Ukraine, Russia to discuss 'political settlement'

A top Chinese envoy is set to visit Ukraine, Russia, and several other European countries in a trip that Beijing said is geared toward the "political settlement" of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

Li Hui, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs and a former ambassador to Russia, is set to begin a diplomatic tour of Ukraine, Russia, Poland, France, and Germany, Reuters reported on May 15, citing a Chinese Foreign Ministry announcement.

Li Hui will be the most senior Chinese official to visit Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion, Reuters wrote.

On April 26, President Volodymyr Zelensky had a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which was apparently initiated by the Ukrainian side.  

On the same day, Zelensky appointed Pavlo Riabikin, the former minister of strategic industries, as Ukraine's new ambassador to China.

China has publicly positioned itself as a potential mediator between Russia and Ukraine. On April 14, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said that his country wouldn't sell weaponry to either side of the war.

China released a 12-point "peace plan" on the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. It was criticized by many of Ukraine's allies for failing to explicitly call for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.

Explainer: China’s increasing role in Russia’s war against Ukraine

Just days before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February, China’s leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “friendship without limits,” agreeing there would be no “forbidden areas of cooperation.” Unsurprisingly then, Beijing did not condemn Russia’s all-out w…

Kyiv IndependentThaisa Semenova