The first telephone conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Xi Jinping since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine took place on Wednesday, April 26. This was reported by the Xinhua news agency.
“I believe that this call and the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China will give a strong impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” Zelenskiy said on his Twitter account.
Xi Jinping said that China will send its representatives to Ukraine and other countries for consultations on the political resolution of the crisis.
According to the Chinese leader, Beijing’s envoys will hold in-depth consultations with all parties to the conflict to develop a political option to tackle the crisis.
“China will send a special representative from the government responsible for Eurasian affairs to Ukraine and other countries,” Xi Jinping said.
He added that dialogue and negotiations are the only possible way out.
The Chinese special delegation to work in Ukraine and other countries to resolve the Ukraine crisis will be headed by the country’s former ambassador to Moscow, Li Hui, who headed the Chinese diplomatic mission in Moscow from 2009 to 2019. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not specify exactly when the envoy of the People’s Republic of China should arrive.
“We will release relevant information in a timely manner,” Yu Jun, deputy head of the Central Asian and Eastern European countries department of the People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a special press conference in Beijing. Conversation between Xi Jinping and Zelensky.
Hua Chunying, spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that President Xi’s meeting with President Zelenskiy took place on the initiative of the Ukrainian side. He stressed that the Chinese side is not involved in the conflict in Ukraine and does not intend to use it for its own purposes.
According to China Central TV, in a meeting with the Ukrainian leader on April 26, the Chinese President said that Beijing has always been on the side of peace in the Ukraine crisis.
“The People’s Republic of China will strongly support the negotiation process and the ceasefire as soon as possible,” Xi said.
On April 6, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that Xi Jinping confirmed his readiness to speak with Volodymyr Zelensky when the conditions are right.
On April 7, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said that China is in contact with all parties in the Ukrainian conflict, including Ukraine itself.
At the same time, Chinese President Xi Jinping noted that there is no “magic tool” to resolve the Ukraine crisis and that the parties to the conflict must create conditions for peace talks.
He stressed that Beijing is in favor of facilitating peace talks and a diplomatic resolution of the conflict.
In March, Volodymyr Zelensky announced his readiness to receive Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kiev.
“We’re ready to see him here. I want to talk to him. But all this year, more than a year, I’ve had no contact. [с Си]”, he told the Associated Press. Journalists reported that the Ukrainian leader had already sent an invitation to Xi Jinping.
In an interview with the Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun on March 25, Zelenskiy said that he did not receive the negotiation offer from China.
Earlier, the British Financial Times newspaper, based on an official from the European Union, reported that the EU insisted on negotiations between the President of the People’s Republic of China and the President of Ukraine. It was noted that the European Union requested China to communicate not only with Russia, but also with Ukraine.