A source within the Ukrainian government told CNN earlier this week that a Chinese envoy would be in Kyiv Tuesday and Wednesday, though Ukraine has not released further details.
China has remained tight-lipped about the visit of its Special Representative on Eurasian Affairs, which it had billed as part of a five-country tour to promote communication toward “a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”
When asked about Li’s trip at regular press briefings this week, China’s Foreign Ministry said information would be shared “in due course.”
Last week, the Foreign Ministry said Li would visit Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany and Russia starting May 15 – just days before the Group of Seven (G7) leaders are expected to affirm their solidarity against Russia in a summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
China has attempted to cast itself as a peace broker and deflect criticism that it has not acted to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine, more than one year after Moscow invaded its western neighbor.
Li’s apparent arrival this week coincided with an exceptionally dense aerial assault by Russian forces on the capital Kyiv early Tuesday, though Ukraine said most of the Russian munitions failed to hit their marks after being destroyed by its defense systems.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week wrapped up his own tour of European countries, where he welcomed promises of fresh military aid from countries including Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
Diplomatic mission
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Zelensky spoke late last month for the first time since the start of the war, and according to Beijing, Xi pledged to facilitate peace talks, including by dispatching an envoy.
Beijing’s diplomatic and economic support of Russia since the early days of the war have accelerated concerns about China’s foreign policy across European capitals. While Xi’s call with Zelensky was their first, the Chinese leader has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin five times during the conflict – including twice in person.
Beijing’s ties with Moscow have been under close scrutiny over the past week as European officials discussed a recalibration of the bloc’s China strategy.
EU Foreign Affairs chief Josep Borrell on Friday said the bloc’s relations with China “will not develop normally if China does not push Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.”
Li’s trip to Ukraine would make him the highest ranking Chinese diplomat to travel to the country since start of the war.
A seasoned former diplomat, Li served as ambassador to Russia from 2009 to 2019, and his resume includes significant contributions to the China-Russia relationship during a key era of deepening cooperation under Xi and Putin.
In 2019, Putin presented Li with the Order of Friendship, making him only the second Chinese national to receive a state decoration from the Kremlin, according to Chinese state media. Xi was the first, receiving the Order of St. Andrew two years earlier.
Li’s scheduled visit to Ukraine comes amid what observers have described as a concerted effort from Beijing to reposition itself to be seen as a neutral agent of peace amid worsening ties with Europe.
‘Political settlement’
After his call with Xi last month, Zelensky said the exchange was “meaningful,” but underscored that “there can be no peace at the expense of territorial compromises.”
Beijing in February released a paper on a “political settlement” to the conflict, which critics said would only help Russia consolidate its territorial gains in Ukraine, as it did not include a call for Russia to withdraw before a ceasefire.
On Monday ahead of Li’s expected arrival in Ukraine, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called for Ukraine’s peace plan to be the basis of efforts to resolve the conflict.
“We should never forget that Ukraine is the country that was brutally invaded. It is therefore the one that should set out the core principles for a just peace,” she said in Brussels.
Ukraine, the US and more than 100 nations have called for peace predicated on the unconditional withdrawal of Russia troops from Ukrainian territory.
Beijing, however, has repeatedly accused the US and its allies of fueling the conflict through weapons support to Ukraine, and has sought buy-in on its “political settlement” from other countries.
An editorial in the state-run English-language China Daily on Sunday said that Li would visit Poland, France and Germany during his tour as they are “key stakeholders” in Europe when it comes to any peace agreement.
The US, the editorial said, was excluded from Li’s itinerary as it was “questionable” whether Washington was open to efforts to advance peace.
CNN’s Mengchen Zhang in Beijing, Victoria Butenko in Kyiv, and Josh Pennington contributed to this report.
