Top Chinese envoy to visit Ukraine, Russia on 'peace' mission

Li Hui will visit Poland, France and Germany during the multi-day tour, announced the Foreign Ministry on Friday, without giving a schedule.

At a daily press briefing, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the foreign ministry said: "The visit... is a testimony to China's effort towards promoting peace discussions and fully demonstrates China’s firm commitment toward peace."

His visit could coincide with the start of the long-anticipated counteroffensive launched by Ukraine in order to reclaim territory that was seized by Russia.

According to two sources with knowledge of the situation, Li is expected to make his first stop in Ukraine on his journey.

China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a question about the order in which Li will be visiting the various countries.

The visit came weeks after Chinese president Xi Jinping had a telephone call in late April with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the first talk between the two leaders following the start of the war.

Zelenskiy called the call "long and meaningful" in a tweet, while Xi stated that China would promote peace. However, Beijing's plans to end the conflict were met with some skepticism by the West, given its ties to Russia.

Several European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, and European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen have urged Xi, during a series of visits to Beijing from March, to speak to Zelenskiy, and to play a more proactive role in restraining Moscow’s actions.

Beijing has been heavily promoting a 12-point proposal since February for a political solution to the Ukraine crisis.

The plan was launched on the anniversary of the Russian invasion and was largely a repetition of China's earlier positions on the war. The plan urged both sides towards a gradual deescalation, and warned against nuclear weapons.

Kyiv has rejected the idea of making any territorial concessions with Russia, and said that it wants to reclaim every inch of land. Since last year, Russia has claimed that it annexed four other Ukrainian regions which Moscow now refers to as Russian land.

China has not condemned its strategic ally Moscow, or called its actions an "invasion" throughout the war. This has led to criticisms from European countries and from the United States who have questioned China’s credibility as a possible broker in the conflict.

Li's message will be closely scrutinized, given the concern among Western nations about Xi's March meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his "dearest friend", and their commitment to a partnership "without limits" less than three weeks prior to the invasion. Moscow described the operation as a special military operation.

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