Chinese envoy says Ukraine, Russia must "start with themselves" to create space for peace talks

China’s special envoy Li Hui said his country and Ukraine would continue efforts to cooperate for “mutual benefit” as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Kyiv, part of Beijing’s latest attempt to push for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, China’s foreign ministry said on May 18.

Li, who met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “elaborated on China’s position on a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine”, the foreign ministry said in a statement, without giving more details, South China Morning Post reports.

He also called for the two warring parties to “start with themselves, build up mutual trust and create conditions to stop the war and talk”, and that Beijing was willing to make its own efforts to push forward a ceasefire, the statement added.

The ministry’s readout made no mention of how Beijing’s peace proposal was received by Kyiv.

During meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, Li also met other senior officials, including the head of the presidential office Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and the chiefs of the infrastructure, energy and national defence departments.

During the meetings, “the two sides exchanged views on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and China-Ukraine relations”, the Chinese statement said.

They also agreed to “work together to continue the tradition of mutual respect and sincere treatment between the two sides, and move their mutually beneficial cooperation forward continuously”, it said.

Kyiv was the first stop for Li, 70, who is China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs and a former ambassador to Russia. He was appointed as a peace envoy to Ukraine after a long-anticipated phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Zelenskyy three weeks ago.

Li’s Kyiv visit came as Ukraine stepped up counter attacks against Russia. On Tuesday, Ukraine had shot down all six Kinzhal missiles – Russia’s most potent hypersonic weapon – launched at the capital during an “exceptionally intense” nighttime attack, according to Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s civil and military administration.