On April 26, due to pressure from the international community and Ukraine, a conversation between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Xi Jinping finally took place. Concrete facts and quotes from the 2-hour conversation cannot be found — only vague and general "China is ready to develop relations with Ukraine" and "we all seek peace." One thing is known for sure: during that call, the Chinese president promised to send Li Hui, a special representative for Eurasian affairs, to Ukraine. Li Hui's goal will be the "crisis in Ukraine." It is noteworthy that the word "crisis" is used, and nowhere in any of the Chinese media is the word "war".
This is almost the only political move by China in more than a year of full-scale war. However, everyone is wondering what crisis special pepresentative Hui plans to resolve and whether China will ever admit that Russia is waging a war against Ukraine. The professionalism and knowledge of ambassador Hui should not be doubted, but 2 things should be taken into account:
- The start of his diplomatic career took place in Soviet Moscow, and in 2009 he was returned to Russia again for 10 years;
- The goal of the diplomat, first of all, is to protect precisely Chinese interests, which do not exactly coincide with the requests of Ukrainians.
"China is consistent and clear in its readiness to develop bilateral relations with Ukraine. Both sides should continue the traditions of mutual respect and sincerity, as well as develop the strategic partnership between China and Ukraine," said Xi Jinping, who recently returned from visiting his "good friend" Putin in Moscow.
