Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to send an envoy to Ukraine to discuss a potential “political settlement” to its war with Russia.
His pledge on Wednesday came during his first telephone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia’s invaded Ukraine last year - and followed months of pressure from Kyiv for such talks.
President Zelensky described the one-hour call as “long and meaningful”, and said they had discussed ways of “possible cooperation to reach a fair and sustainable peace for Ukraine”.
Xi said that Beijing will send an envoy - a former Chinese ambassador to Russia - to Ukraine to discuss a possible "political settlement" to the war.
The Chinese president told Ukrainian President Zelensky in the call that the Chinese envoy would visit Ukraine and "other countries" to discuss a possible political settlement, according to a government statement.
It made no mention of Russia or last year's invasion of Ukraine and did not indicate whether the Chinese envoy might visit Moscow.
Beijing has previously avoided involvement in conflicts between other countries but appears to be trying to assert itself as a global diplomatic force - after arranging talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March that led them to restore diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.
The phone call between Xi and President Zelensky was long anticipated after Beijing said it wanted to serve as a mediator in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
China is the only major government that has friendly relations with Moscow as well as economic leverage as the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas after the United States and its allies cut off most purchases.
Zelensky earlier said he welcomed a Chinese offer to mediate.
Mediating between Ukraine and Russia would increase China’s presence in Eastern Europe, where Beijing has tried to build ties with other governments. That has prompted complaints by some European officials that China is trying to gain leverage over the European Union.
China is the closest thing President Vladimir Putin's isolated government has to a major ally.
Xi and Putin issued a joint statement ahead of the February 2022 invasion that said their governments had a "no limits friendship."
Beijing has tried to appear neutral but has repeated Russian justifications for the invasion.
Xi received a warm welcome from Putin during a visit to Moscow in March. The Chinese defense minister visited Russia this month.
China was Ukraine's biggest trading partner before the invasion, though on a smaller scale than Chinese-Russian trade.
In 2021, Ukraine announced plans for Chinese companies to build trade-related infrastructure.
Zelensky's government was more ambivalent toward Beijing after it was clear Xi wouldn't try to stop Putin's war, but the two sides have remained amicable.
"Before the full-scale Russian invasion, China was Ukraine's number one trading partner,”an official Ukrainian readout of Wednesday’s call reported.
“I believe that our conversation today will give a powerful impetus to the return, preservation and development of this dynamic at all levels.”
Foreign Minister Qin Gang promised this month China wouldn't provide arms to either side, a pledge that benefits Ukraine, which has received tanks, rockets and other armaments from the United States and European governments.
