The visit of China’s special envoy for the peace treaty, Li Hui, to Ukraine did not go unnoticed. The Chinese diplomat chose a non-public format for meetings in Ukraine and did not communicate with the press. Focus I learned what such behavior means and what Kiev can expect from this visit.
Li Hui, Special Representative of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, who was in Ukraine on May 16-17, concludes his visit. The trip took place within the framework of the agreements reached in the phone call between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 26. This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
It is known that the Chinese politician met with Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba during his visit. The parties discussed current issues of interaction between Ukraine and China, both at the bilateral level and within the framework of international organizations, and ways to stop Russian aggression. Kuleba noted the importance of China’s participation in the implementation of the President of Ukraine’s Peace Formula, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, ensuring nuclear security and other important international efforts. Other details were not reported. As well as the positions and official statements of the Chinese side. Nothing was reported about the Chinese diplomat’s meeting with President Zelensky.
Important
It should be noted that Li Hui was the first high-ranking official of the PRC to visit Ukraine since the beginning of a large-scale war. The program of the visit and the planned meetings were not disclosed. Moreover, his arrival was learned from the news in the Western media on May 16. On the same day, Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina said that after Li Hui’s visit to Ukraine ended, they were expecting him on Friday.
Who is Li Hui?
The Chinese diplomat worked for many years in Moscow, first as the First Secretary of the PRC Embassy in the USSR, and then as the PRC Ambassador to the Russian Federation. He held this post for ten years, for which he received gratitude from Russian President Vladimir Putin for “strengthening friendship and cooperation between the Russian Federation and China” and the “Order of Friendship”. In 2019, Li Hui was appointed as the PRC Government’s Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs and has been serving as the PRC Representative to resolve the “Ukraine crisis” since April 26, 2023.
What can be expected from Li Hui’s visit?
There is no information from official sources about the schedule of the visit to Ukraine, as well as to Poland, France and Germany. Also, even the Chinese press does not write anything. Therefore, Global Times, which was associated with the Chinese Communist Party prior to the visit, reported that this is the real issue. The mission of the visit will be to study and inform about the needs and views of these key stakeholders.. It is known that Li Hui will go to Warsaw after Ukraine, and from there to Paris and Berlin. Then the last visit to Russia, which is known, even dates are given until the end of this month.
“We don’t know anything about the visit, no statements or messages from the Ukrainian or Chinese governments. All that is known is that he came to Ukraine to discuss a grain deal. And that, according to Bloomberg. We are not used to such transparency, “If no details are reported, there are no photos or news. Probably all at the request of the Chinese Communist Party. Remember that there is censorship in the country and freedom of expression is understood here. It’s its own way.” Focus Artur Kharitonov, President of the public organization Liberal Democratic Union of Ukraine.
Yevgeny Magda, Director of the World Policy Institute, is confident that although this visit has been announced at a high level, there will be no details and resounding statements. Li Hui came to gather information, study moods and thoughts, and therefore acts in a non-public manner.
“You have to understand that he is a person who will no longer comment on anything for himself. Based on the results of collecting such information in Ukraine and other European countries, Beijing will decide for itself how to proceed,” explains Focus.
Why has China become more active in the diplomatic arena?
Experts interviewed by Focus point out that no major decisions or statements should be expected from Li Hui’s visit. Therefore, his visit was not covered in detail in the media. East Asian expert Natalya Plaksienko-Butyrskaya, a foreign policy veteran, suggests that such secrecy may still be due to security factors. Recall that on the eve of the visit of the Chinese diplomat, Kiev was subjected to a massive missile attack from the Russian Federation. According to him, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it will provide information gradually, but does not expect a press release with general statements she said.
“We should not expect anything, Chinese diplomacy is top secret and very official, official departments give very little information. This is the start of political consultations from China, a kind of long marathon of political dialogue. In my opinion, there is no expectation either. Beijing has started the process and will observe.” said. Focus Plaksienko-Butyrskaya.
In contrast, Artur Kharitonov says that in the meeting with Li Hui, Ukraine was likely again pushed to implement the Chinese peace plan and that China was discussing the grain deal because it had its own economic interest there.
“It is necessary to focus on Ukraine, because there are future visits to Warsaw, Paris and Berlin, and finally to Moscow. Beijing will draw some conclusions for itself from what it has collected,” the expert said.
According to Plaksienko-Butyrskaya, Chinese messengers were already in Europe, collecting information, studying their mood. The EU is politically heterogeneous, so Beijing is also looking for people with whom it will be possible to advance the issue of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. According to him, all these activities of Chinese diplomacy can be associated with the scandal that Lu Shae, the Chinese Ambassador to France, fell into. If you remember, the diplomat questioned the sovereignty of the countries that left the Soviet Union and questioned the belonging of Crimea to Ukraine. Subsequently, the embassy reported that it did not support the diplomat’s personal opinion. A few days later, Xi Jinping called Zelensky.
“After Xi’s visit to Putin, China’s diplomatic activity somewhat calmed down if the ambassador had not made the scandal statement. In fact, to quench the scandal, Zelenskiy had to organize a call and accelerate diplomatic activity.” said.
Experts emphasize that Beijing is following the situation because it wants to participate in post-war negotiations, global security issues and the fate of the Russian Federation.
Source: Focus
Alfred Hart is an accomplished journalist known for his expert analysis and commentary on global affairs. He currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker, where he provides readers with in-depth coverage of the most pressing issues affecting the world today. With a keen insight and a deep understanding of international politics and economics, Alfred’s writing is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the world we live in.