Li Hui, China's special representative for Eurasian affairs, is about to embark on his second round of diplomatic trips, and it is striking that the order of his visits has changed significantly. Unlike before, he will first travel to Russia, not Ukraine. This itinerary is necessarily deliberate and demonstrates China's important role and unique position in resolving the Ukraine crisis.
The Chinese plane will depart, and this change in itinerary comes in a context of much attention. The Ukraine crisis has been going on for three years, and the parties have been sinking into the conflict and showing obvious fatigue. In this context, China is once again acting in an attempt to provide Chinese wisdom for resolving the crisis. According to ***, in addition to visiting Russia and Ukraine, Special Envoy Li Hui will also visit France, Germany, Poland and the EU headquarters, and the breadth and depth of this itinerary shows China's positive attitude and willingness in this diplomatic action.
The changes in Special Envoy Li Hui's visit have aroused great concern from all sides, and the outside world is full of expectations about when China will intervene and how it will facilitate the resolution of the Ukraine crisis.
Take Ukraine as an example, at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ukraine** Zelensky sent an invitation letter to China, hoping to meet with Chinese representatives. But at the time, the Chinese side chose not to respond, suggesting a kind of "silent refusal."
However, this does not mean that China is not concerned about the Ukraine issue. On the contrary, China knows perfectly well that holding such talks without Russia's participation makes little real sense.
But now the situation is different. The arrangements for the Chinese envoy's visit include meetings with parties involved in the conflict, which will undoubtedly help to better promote the political settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Unlike previous ones, the Chinese envoy's itinerary has undergone major changes. Last year, China made its first stop in Ukraine, then made a detour through Europe and finally visited Russia. And this time, China directly arranged the first stop in Russia.
Clearly, China has given full consideration to the itinerary in this "shuttle diplomacy". To be clear, the prerequisite for China to mediate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is that both Russia and Ukraine show their willingness to negotiate peace, and both sides open the door to peace talks, so that there is room for mediation.
Looking at the overall situation, since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia has been inclined to support the views put forward by China, and the two sides clearly share some common positions.
Despite the Ukrainian side's request for our mediation, Zelensky's "peace plan" is largely influenced by the will of the West. Therefore, in promoting peace talks, we must try our best to seek reconciliation on the basis of taking into account the needs of all parties"Greatest common divisor"。
Therefore, it is very wise that we chose to place the first stop of the envoy in Russia. However, the reaction of the Russian side to the announcement of our special envoy's visit was somewhat striking.
Russian spokeswoman Zakharova immediately responded that after the arrival of Special Envoy Li Hui in Moscow, he will hold talks with Russian Deputy Minister Mikhail Galuzin. As for whether Russian Putin and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with the Chinese envoy, it has not yet been clarified.
In terms of specific negotiations, in order to successfully resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it is first necessary to resolve the issue of the ownership of the four eastern regions of Ukraine. However, Russia and the international community have very different views on this.
Russia is inclined to include the four eastern regions of Ukraine in its territory and is vigorously pushing for a "referendum" in the region. This shows that the Russian side believes that the negotiating space is extremely limited. In addition, the Russian side also publicly stated that the four eastern regions of Ukraine will participate in this year's vote, not limited to Russia itself, and this move has also exacerbated the complexity of the issue of Ukraine's ownership.
However, the reality is that these regions are still legally part of the territory of Ukraine. Therefore, it is simply impossible for Western countries to recognize their independence. For China, the importance of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries was emphasized at the outset in China's 12-point plan for resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Needless to say, Russia is self-conscious in this matter and has a disagreement with China's position. Of course, we are not a direct participant in the conflict, but out of our responsibilities and obligations as a major country, we continue to advocate the resolution of the problem through persuasion and peace talks, and provide a general direction and reference plan.
It would be a better outcome if, under the mediation of Li Hui's special envoy, one of the Russian and Ukrainian sides made concessions to create space for peace talks. But if not, China has done its best. After all, China's international influence has not yet reached a point where it can directly push the parties to the negotiating table.