BEIJING: A Chinese envoy was preparing Monday to visit Ukraine and Russia, but there appeared to be little chance of a breakthrough to end the 15-month-long invasion.
\nChinese leader Xi Jinping\u2019s government says it is neutral and wants to play a role as mediator, but has given Moscow political support. Beijing released a proposed peace plan in February, but that was largely dismissed by Ukraine\u2019s allies, who insist Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s forces must withdraw.
\nLi Hui, a former ambassador to Moscow, also will visit Poland, France and Germany, according to the foreign ministry. It gave no other schedule details.
\nPolitical analysts see little hope for a peace agreement because neither Ukraine nor Russia is ready to stop fighting. They say by sending an envoy, China appears to be trying to neutralize criticism of its friendship with Putin and to split European allies away from Washington.
\nXi spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone in April, setting the stage for the diplomatic push.
\nThe trip \u201cexpresses China\u2019s commitment to promoting peace and negotiations,\u201d foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Friday. Wang said China wishes to prevent an \u201cescalation of the situation.\u201d
\nBeijing previously avoided involvement in conflicts between other countries but appears to be asserting itself as a global diplomatic force after arranging talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March that led them to restore diplomatic relations following a seven-year break.
\nChina has friendly relations with Moscow as well as economic leverage as the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas after the United States and its allies cut off most purchases.
\nXi\u2019s government sees Moscow as a diplomatic partner in opposing US domination of global affairs. Beijing has refused to criticize the February 2022 invasion and used its status as one of five permanent United Nations Security Council members to deflect diplomatic attacks on Russia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING: A Chinese envoy was preparing Monday to visit Ukraine and Russia, but there appeared to be little chance of a breakthrough to end the 15-month-long invasion. Chinese leader Xi Jinping\u2019s government says it is neutral and wants to play a role as mediator, but has given Moscow political support. Beijing released a proposed peace […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-331359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n