China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular press conference Friday that the aim of Li’s trip to Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany and Russia was to “communicate with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis”.
Li’s tour showed China’s “commitment to promoting peace and talks”, Wang said. “It fully shows that China firmly stands on the side of peace.
“China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in building more international consensus on the ceasefire, the cessation of war, the opening of peace talks, and the avoidance of escalation of the situation,” he added.
“China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in building more international consensus on the ceasefire, the cessation of war, the opening of peace talks, and the avoidance of escalation of the situation,” he added.
Qin Gang, China’s foreign minister who is currently in Norway, said of Li’s visit: “We all worry about the situation and we all call for peace and a political solution, which China stands for and has been calling for since day one of the outbreak of the conflict.”
But the choice of Li, the special representative of the Chinese government for Eurasian Affairs, has raised eyebrows.
Shortly before leaving Moscow as ambassador, he was awarded the Order of Friendship medal by President Vladimir Putin.
Xi’s phone call with Zelenskyy, described by the Ukrainian president as “long and meaningful”, follows Beijing’s publication in February of a 12-point position paper on Ukraine, which called for dialogue and respect for all countries’ territorial sovereignty.
The paper was panned by Western countries for its vague wording, though it prompted Zelenskyy to say he would be open to talks with Xi.
Its first point was that “the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries must be effectively upheld”.
But China has consistently refused to expand upon how that relates to the specifics of the Ukraine war
Source: CNA
