China ready to continue mediate efforts on Ukrainian crisis: diplomat
3 Min Read
Chinese Special Representative on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui embarked on his second European tour on Saturday.
-
China's Ukraine envoy Li Hui waits for a question from journalists in Beijing, Friday, June 2, 2023. (AP)
Chinese Special Representative on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui on Sunday said that China is prepared to pursue efforts and act as a mediator to seek a peace settlement to the Ukrainian crisis.
"Historical experience shows that any conflict must ultimately be resolved through negotiation. The more acute the contradiction, the less we can give up on efforts to negotiate. The Chinese side is willing to continue to make efforts for peace and negotiations, to act as a mediator between Russia, Ukraine and other parties, and to build consensus and promote a final political solution to the Ukrainian crisis," Li was quoted as saying by the Chinese Foreign Ministry at talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin in Moscow.
The diplomat embarked on his second European tour on Saturday, with plans to visit Russia, Ukraine, the EU headquarters, Poland, Germany, and France.
His first tour occurred on May 2023. This followed the issue of a 12-point document titled "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis."
The document stresses the importance of respecting the sovereignty of all nations involved and urges for an end to hostilities. It further advocated for the renewal of peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev.
Read more: Following leaked Ukraine war audio scandal, Scholz vows probe
At the Munich Security Conference last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to assisting with diplomatic efforts in resolving the Ukraine crisis.
China "has never given up on promoting peace or slackened its efforts to facilitate talks" on the Ukrainian crisis, Yi said, adding: "There is only one goal that China hopes to achieve, that is to build consensus to ending the conflict and pave the way for peace talks."
He further said that China did not initiate or take part in the Ukrainian crisis, but it also does not remain passive or exploit the situation to its benefit.
China has recently been the source of frustration among Western countries for entertaining good diplomatic and trade relations with Russia.
So much so that some countries accused China of partaking in the war by supplying arms and weapons to Russia.
While Europe is currently witnessing trends of de-industrialization and economic stagnation, China's economy grew by about 5.2% in 2023, which exceeded initial expectations set by the government.
The US recently introduced 500 sanctions targeting individuals and entities allegedly affiliated in the war in Ukraine.
Seventeen companies in mainland China and Hong Kong were named among them.
Read more: US sanctions on China 'disastrous' to global economy: Premier
