Andrey Popov — about the message on Ukraine, which was delivered by the Special representative of the Chinese Government for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui
The Chinese authorities have repeatedly pointed out that prolonging and complicating the crisis in Ukraine does not meet anyone's interests. As a major power, China can hardly sit back and watch the conflict from afar. As Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shae said recently, talking about the role of world powers, "a big country should act like a big country <...> if you become an elephant, you can no longer hide behind a tree."
In early March, the Chinese government's special representative for Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui, former Chinese Ambassador to Russia, visited Moscow, Brussels, Warsaw, Kiev, Berlin and Paris for the second time in less than a year. This trip was another round of shuttle diplomacy on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. The diplomat made his first tour in May 2023, when Li Hui first of all tried to convey to each side China's position on the Ukrainian crisis.
China's position on the Ukrainian crisis
Every time the Foreign Ministry is confronted with the topic of the Ukrainian crisis, it indicates that Beijing's position on Ukraine is unchanged and clear. The ministry refers to a document published in February 2023 by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which sets out China's position on Ukraine.
This 12-point document speaks of the need to respect the sovereignty of all countries, reject cold War thinking, stop hostilities, initiate peace talks, resolve the humanitarian crisis, and protect civilians and refugees. China also calls for ensuring the safety of nuclear power plants, avoiding the use of nuclear weapons, ensuring the operation of grain corridors, abandoning unilateral sanctions, ensuring the stability of production and logistics chains, and contributing to the restoration of territories after the end of hostilities.
The content of the document raised questions from the international community due to the ambiguous reading of some paragraphs, but it provided Beijing with room for maneuver and chances to play the role of a neutral observer and mediator.
In April 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing, said that China's position on the Ukrainian issue could be characterized by one sentence: "To promote peace and negotiations."
The agenda of the diplomatic tour
Last year, Li Hui started his trip from Kiev, then headed to European capitals and completed a diplomatic tour in Moscow. This year, he first visited the Russian capital, where he met with Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin. At the meeting, the diplomats exchanged views on the Ukrainian crisis and relations between Moscow and Beijing. They pointed out the need to promote the further development of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China. Galuzin and Li Hui noted that any discussion of a political and diplomatic settlement in Ukraine is impossible without Russia's participation and consideration of its security interests. Despite the importance of Li Hui's visit to Moscow, it is worth noting that the Russian Federation and China constantly maintain close contact at high and highest levels: Beijing is highly informed about Moscow's position on Ukraine.
Then Li Hui went to Brussels to the headquarters of the European Union. At a meeting with European diplomats, the special representative of the Chinese government declared the unacceptability of unilateral sanctions against Chinese enterprises cooperating with Russian companies. In Brussels, Li Hui also met with the head of the International Security Department of the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Gabriel Luchinger, and praised the work of this European country in facilitating peace talks — Switzerland insists on the need to include Moscow in the negotiation process.
During his visit to Poland, Li Hui noted that prolonging and complicating the crisis in Ukraine does not meet the interests of either side. He stated Beijing's readiness, together with Warsaw, to help cool the situation and restore peace as soon as possible.
The Chinese diplomat's next stop was Kiev, where he reached by train. Li Hui met with the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Ermak. The Ukrainian delegation also included Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba and Deputy Energy Minister Svetlana Grinchuk. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not provide details of the meeting, informing only that the parties "held frank and friendly talks on Chinese-Ukrainian relations and the Ukrainian crisis." Judging by the composition of the Ukrainian delegation, it can be assumed that the parties discussed not only the settlement of the conflict, but also issues of bilateral economic cooperation. The number of participants from the Ukrainian side shows how important the meeting with the Special representative of the People's Republic of China is for Kiev against the background of rather rare contacts and cool diplomatic relations between the two countries. According to Bloomberg, Ukrainian Ambassador to Beijing Pavel Ryabikin has achieved only a few meetings since arriving in China in April last year, despite about 40 requests to various ministries.
Then Li Hui went to Berlin. The visit of the special representative of the Chinese government to Germany was preceded by a leak of a conversation between Bundeswehr officers about attacks on Russian territory. The Chinese diplomat, in a conversation with the State Secretary of the German Foreign Ministry, Thomas Bagger, said that the conflict retains the risk of further escalation and does not correspond to the common interests of the international community, including China and Germany. Li Hui said that China is ready, together with Germany, to support the convening of a peace conference at an appropriate time with the equal participation of all parties.
A similar message — a warning against escalation — was voiced during the visit to Paris. In February, French President Emmanuel Macron said he did not rule out sending Western ground forces to Ukraine. In the French capital, Li Hui met with Jonathan Lacote, Deputy Director General for Political and Security Affairs of the French Foreign Ministry. The emissary of the Chinese government pointed out the need to cool down the situation and find a way out for the cessation of hostilities as soon as possible. He added that China is ready to continue to maintain close contacts with France on the issue of the Ukrainian crisis.
Mediation tasks of the second round
China would like to see an end to the conflict as soon as possible, based not only on moral but also on practical considerations. Stability in the Eurasian space and uninterrupted trade routes from China to Europe are important for Beijing. During the diplomatic tour, the Chinese special representative discussed not only the Ukrainian crisis, but also the bilateral relations of the countries.
Before Li Hui's trip, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the purpose of the second round of shuttle diplomacy was to "build bridges for peace talks." At a meeting with colleagues, the diplomat pointed out the need to convene an international conference on Ukraine at an appropriate time with equal participation of all parties. The same call was made by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the session of the National People's Congress, which took place in parallel with Li Hui's tour.
The Chinese emissary's trip was also supposed to help collect information from different sides and bring it to the other shore. It is noteworthy that Li Hui's first and second trips took place against the background of the successes of the Russian Federation on the battlefield: in May last year, the tour took place in parallel with the capture of Artemovsk, this year — after the liberation of Avdiivka.
China has no illusions that the conflict will end tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. This is indicated by the wording on convening an international summit "at the appropriate time." Before building bridges, Beijing "crosses the river, groping for stones." Based on the principle of non-interference, the PRC does not seek to persuade any of the parties to any conditions, but calls for a direct, equal and realistic dialogue: such a conversation could bring the conflict to an end.
Li Hui attended the summit on Ukraine in Jeddah in August 2023. The conference was convened at the suggestion of the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, without the participation of Russia. How much this and other similar conferences have brought the conflict to an end is a rhetorical question. Beijing does not share the metaphysical "formulas of the world", but, on the contrary, leans towards the approach of a physicist, a practitioner and a realist.
