Media: Trump called on Xi Jinping to help end Ukraine war

US President Donald Trump personally urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to assist in efforts to bring the Ukraine war to an end, seeking to tap Beijing’s influence over Moscow to help resolve a conflict now entering its fifth year, the South China Morning Post reports.

According to individuals familiar with discussions at last month’s leaders’ meeting in Beijing, Trump told Xi that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine had stalled. He encouraged the Chinese leader to press Russian President Vladimir Putin to return to the negotiating table and engage directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The appeal underscored Washington’s growing reliance on Beijing’s potential leverage in attempts to end the war, which the US president has made a central focus of his foreign policy agenda since returning to the White House last year, the sources said.

The summit took place during a rare period of battlefield gains for Ukraine, with Kyiv retaking more territory in recent months than it had lost over several years. A senior Ukrainian commander told Reuters last week that Russian forces were showing signs of exhaustion and were no longer able to achieve meaningful breakthroughs.

Meanwhile, Russia last month carried out a large-scale assault on Ukraine, launching around 600 drones and 90 missiles, including the nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile, while pledging continued strikes on Kyiv.

Diplomatic efforts have largely stalled since direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul in July 2025 ended without a ceasefire, with Trump also urging Zelenskyy to move toward an agreement, telling him in March to “get on the ball.”

By Jeyhun Aghazada