Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is set to visit China on Tuesday for two days of discussions aimed at persuading Beijing to reduce its support for Russia and endorse Kyiv’s call for a “sustainable” peace. The main focus of Kuleba’s talks will be on finding ways to halt Russian aggression and exploring China’s potential role in achieving a just peace, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
While China has positioned itself as a close political and economic ally of Moscow, it maintains that it does not support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Beijing has refrained from condemning the war and has avoided participating in international peace conferences led by Ukraine.
China’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the planned talks, stating that Kuleba’s visit was initiated by China’s foreign minister. In the past, Beijing released a proposal calling for a “political settlement” to the conflict, which Ukraine dismissed, and Western nations cautioned that it could allow Russia to retain territory it has seized.
During a previous visit to Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed China’s proposal, describing it as a “genuine desire” to end the conflict. In a bid for a lasting peace, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted a peace summit in Switzerland last month, attended by around 100 delegations, though Russia was not invited, leading to China’s absence and allegations from Zelenskyy of collaboration with Russia.
As hostilities continue, both Ukraine and Russia have ramped up missile and drone attacks, particularly targeting energy infrastructure. Russia regularly claims to intercept Ukrainian drones, which Kyiv asserts are retaliatory strikes against Russian military and civilian targets.