China seeks to mediate Ukraine crisis with call to Zelenskiy, sending special envoy

Chinese officials say the timing was random and hail the call as Beijing’s latest move towards peace. But in Europe, the call to the Ukrainian leader is seen by many as an attempt to compensate for the consequences of the ambassador’s remarks in France.

“After the ambassador’s comments in Paris, they need to somehow make amends,” said a senior EU official.

Since Vladimir Putin’s invasion order last year, Xi Jinping has faced mounting criticism in the West for maintaining a close relationship with the Russian president. The United States demanded that Beijing not supply weapons to Moscow. In February, China released a 12-point document on the war, but it was criticized in the West for not condemning the invasion and for being more veiled in its criticism of NATO than Russia.

That skepticism intensified last month after Xi paid a state visit to Moscow but didn’t call Zelenskiy immediately, as many expected.

Many Western analysts believe that Ambassador Lou Shaye’s statement last weekend, in which he also questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea, played a role in the final decision to make the call. Others say China understands it needs to do more to convince Europe of its sincerity if it wants to participate in any post-war settlement. This is especially important as the EU begins work on a new China policy that is expected to be finalized by the end of June.

“Russia may not win this war,” said Yu Jie, senior China fellow at Chatham House’s Asia-Pacific Programme. process of post-conflict state-building”.

In an hour-long conversation between the presidents, the first since the start of the war, China also said it would send a special envoy to Ukraine, the most drastic step in its attempt to mediate the conflict, the Financial Times notes. The person chosen is Li Hui, a veteran diplomat and former ambassador to Moscow who is currently the Chinese government’s special representative for Eurasian affairs.

According to China’s official statement, Li will have “in-depth communication with all parties on a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”

Outwardly, European leaders praised this call. “This is an important, long overdue first step for China,” said Eric Mamer, spokesman for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. A spokesman for the Élysée Palace stressed that Emmanuel Macron urged Xi to speak with Zelensky during the French president’s state visit to Beijing earlier this month. Macron has long said he believes China could play a role in influencing Russia and told his senior diplomat to keep in touch with his Chinese counterpart to prepare for possible peace talks if Ukraine agreed to take part.

However, US officials reacted with skepticism. “Whether this will lead to some meaningful peace movement, plan or proposal, I just don’t think we know it right now,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Beijing said that during the call, Xi reiterated China’s opposition to any use of nuclear weapons in the war. “Nobody wins a nuclear war,” Xi told Zelensky.

China’s opposition to the use of nuclear weapons is one of the few areas in which it openly disagrees with Putin, who has repeatedly threatened to use them. Overall, analysts say the call represents China’s “flanking move” to rally support against its main adversary, the United States, with which it is in increasingly intense competition in everything from Taiwan and the South China Sea to the economy and advanced technology. .

By presenting a more neutral front, China hoped to drive a wedge between the US and the EU, as well as show the developing world that it is a force for peace, unlike Washington, which it accuses of supplying weapons to war, analysts say. A senior EU official said the call was “a signal to others in the global south that he (China) is the world leader.”