(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba arrived in China to discuss Beijing’s possible role in ending the war Russia launched more than two years ago.
The first visit by senior Ukrainian official in eight years comes as China has served as an economic lifeline for the Kremlin since its invasion began. Beijing has also put forward its own proposals for a peace initiative that would include Russia at the table.
“We’ll talk, search for touch points,” Kuleba said after his arrival in China on Tuesday for a three-day visit. “We’ll avoid a competition of peace plans and we have to move to a stable and just peace.”
Kuleba was invited by his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi for talks about “China’s possible role in achieving a stable and just peace,” according to a statement by Ukraine’s foreign ministry. Talks are scheduled for Wednesday.
Ukraine is attempting to improve ties with China as US presidential elections and waning western support raise questions about the longevity of its defenses. Beijing sat out a summit organized by Kyiv to rally support for a peace blueprint last month because it didn’t include Moscow.
Kyiv now seeks to hold a second summit ahead of US elections in November and has signaled it was open to Russia’s attending it.
Kremlin’s increasing dependence on China means it is one of the few actors that could influence Moscow’s policy. Despite snubbing the peace summit in June, Beijing should play “serious role” in ending the war, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in interview to Bloomberg. Together with the US, the country may become a “potential mediator” in peace negotiations, he said.
Ukraine’s western backers have been more vocal in calling into doubt China’s credibility as a peace broker between Ukraine and Russia. President Xi Jinping hasn’t condemned Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine or called for the withdrawal of troops from occupied territories, while Chinese officials have routinely blamed the US for “fanning the flames” of conflict in Ukraine.
During a summit in Washington this month, NATO leaders branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of Russia due to its supplies of dual-use materials.
That record makes some Ukrainians skeptical of attempts to enlist China in a peace settlement palatable to Ukraine, even if they accept the necessity of trying.
Alina Hrytsenko, chief consultant to the state-run Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies, says that she doesn’t have high hopes for Kuleba’s visit and that it is “impossible” to convince China to change its position on the war.
“For China this is an image and reputation issue,” she said. “They try to improve their authority among the countries of the Global South. Moreover, they play on their antagonism with the US.”
“The US supports Ukraine, provides weapons and says that the conflict will be resolved only by military means, while China does the exact opposite,” she said.
--With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
