Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his desire to speak personally with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the war in Ukraine and expressed hope that China will "evaluate" its stance toward Russia in light of the war. 

“I would like to talk directly. I had one conversation with Xi Jinping that was a year ago,” Zelensky said in an interview with the South China Morning Post published on Thursday.

“Since the beginning of the large-scale aggression on February 24, we have asked officially for a conversation, but we (haven’t had) any conversation with China even though I believe that would be helpful,” he added.  

Zelensky described China as a "very powerful state" with a "powerful economy," claiming that if Beijing took economic action against Moscow over the war, it would have a significant negative impact on the Russian economy.

“I’m confident, I’m sure that without the Chinese market for the Russian Federation, Russia would be feeling complete economic isolation,” Zelensky told the Post. “That’s something that China can do – to limit the trade (with Russia) until the war is over.” 

Zelensky asserted that China is attempting to maintain a "balanced" attitude toward the Russian invasion, but he also implied that the significant Asian power had a responsibility to do more as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

“If we are operating without the legislation, then why should we have the Security Council at all, if any country … or several countries in the world, could simply decide to violate the rules militarily?” Zelensky told the publication. 

Earlier this month, despite China not being a party to the Ukraine war, Beijing is not standing idle with regard to what is unfolding there, and it is facilitating the peace talks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjart.

"We have not stood by, nor will we add fuel to the fire. We have always unswervingly and perseveringly promoted peace talks," Wang told Szijjarto, as quoted by the Chinese foreign ministry. He also stressed that his country was not a party to the conflict in Ukraine.

Wang also highlighted that Beijing was engaging with the G20 to address the spillover effects of the Ukraine war that was experienced throughout the world rather than just in Europe. 

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