As the Ukraine crisis escalated, Li Hui, the Chinese government's special representative for Eurasian affairs, concluded a 12-day visit to Europe. From May 15 to 26, Li Hui visited Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, the headquarters of the European Union and Russia, and conducted extensive contacts and exchanges with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, expounded China's positions and propositions, listened to the opinions and suggestions of all parties, and gathered more international consensus.
At the same time as Li Hui's visit to Europe, the China Institute of International Studies held an international seminar on "The Road to Peace: Prospects for a Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis" in Beijing on May 26. Think tank experts from 15 countries conducted in-depth discussions on topics such as the multi-dimensional exploration of the Ukrainian crisis, the future direction of the Ukrainian crisis, and the prospects for a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis.
Rong Ying, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, said in his speech at the seminar that Ambassador Li Hui, special representative of the Chinese government for Eurasian affairs, visited five European countries and actively communicated with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, which is a concrete action to persuade peace and promote talks, demonstrating China's responsibility as a major country.
"This visit to Europe is a journey of building bridges and building consensus for China's commitment to the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, and a concrete effort by China to implement the 12-point position statement on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis." Chen Wenxin, director of the Institute of American Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said in an interview with The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) after the seminar that through this visit, we can see China's efforts to peacefully resolve the Ukrainian crisis and seek common security.
The China Institute of International Studies held an international seminar on "The Road to Peace: Prospects for a Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis". Think tank experts from 15 countries, including China, Brazil, Poland, Russia, France, Kazakhstan, the United States, South Africa, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, India and Indonesia, attended the meeting. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li He
All parties still need to accumulate mutual trust and consensus
During his visit to Europe, Li Hui conducted extensive contacts and exchanges with all parties involved in the Ukraine crisis, helping to establish communication channels between the two direct parties of Russia and Ukraine, as well as European countries.
Since May 15, Li Hui has visited Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, and the headquarters of the European Union, and arrived in Russia on the 26th. During the visit, Li Hui met with dignitaries and officials from many countries, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Kuleba; Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Görwiel; Mondoloni, Director-General for Political and Security Affairs at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Micha Ellis, State Secretary of the German Foreign Office; Moura, a senior EU foreign policy official, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, among others. Zelensky is the only head of state that Li Hui met during this trip.
In exchanges with all parties, Li Hui expounded China's position on a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, the core of which is to persuade peace and promote talks and political settlement. At the same time, he also stressed that China "has always adhered to an objective and fair position".
Regarding how to restart peace talks, ceasefire and stop the war, which has attracted much attention from the outside world, the surging news reporter noted that during Li Hui's talks with Polish, French and German officials, it was mentioned that on the one hand, "all parties need to start from themselves and create favorable conditions for the resumption of peace talks by accumulating mutual trust"; on the other hand, he also said that China is willing to strengthen dialogue and exchanges with all parties to "gradually accumulate consensus and lay a foundation for the ceasefire and cessation of war." It can be seen from this that whether it is peace talks or the cessation of war, it is still in the stage of mutual trust and consensus "accumulation".
"At present, the Ukrainian crisis has not yet reached the conditions for peace talks to stop the war. Only step by step, all parties can start from themselves, gradually accumulate mutual trust, and create conditions for peace talks to stop the war. Based on the situation on the battlefield, Chen Wenxin further explained to The Paper that from the perspective of both warring parties, Russia and Ukraine believe that what they can't get on the battlefield is difficult to get at the negotiating table, so they are trying to gain more advantages on the battlefield. In addition, the United States and the West are also continuing to expand aid to Ukraine, pulling the sidelines and continuing to add firewood to the fire of the crisis. This is not conducive to the peaceful resolution of the crisis.
Judging from the recent statements of Russia and Ukraine, the two sides are still in the stage of accumulation of military resources on the battlefield. In fact, since April, Western public opinion has begun to exaggerate the news that "Ukraine launched a counteroffensive". A number of US media quoted the "confidential documents" of the US military and intelligence departments as breaking the news that the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive will begin at the end of April or May. According to the BBC on May 27, Alexei Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Affairs Council, said that Ukraine is ready to launch a long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian troops. The Ukrainian army may start attacking "tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week."
"It is too early to discuss a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian issue." Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on May 24 that there were no preconditions for discussion and that the special military operation was continuing.
However, former US Secretary of State and famous diplomat Kissinger recently predicted in an interview with CBS that due to China's accession, the Russian-Ukrainian peace talks may enter a critical stage before the end of this year.
The call for "promoting peace" is increasing
Although objectively the conditions for peace talks have not yet been met, the crisis in Ukraine is still escalating, and the spillover effect continues to appear.
At present, six African countries hope to form a delegation to mediate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. According to the South Africa News 24-hour website, South African President Ramaphosa said on May 16 that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have agreed to receive peace missions led by six African heads of state in Moscow and Kiev. The six African countries that have initiated peace initiatives are Zambia, Senegal, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Egypt and South Africa.
Egypt's "Izvestia" said that Africa's proposal to mediate on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict highlights its good will to show its ability and play an active role in international affairs, and use this to expand its influence and discourse. At the same time, this is also out of self-interest, because the Russia-Ukraine conflict is having a great impact on Africa's energy and food security.
Previously, Brazilian President Lula also proposed the establishment of a G20-like organization to solve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The organization is made up of countries that do not participate in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in order to seek a peaceful solution to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. At the same time, Lula also criticized the United States and Europe for deliberately delaying the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
"The world hopes that the power of peace is growing. The Ukraine issue has a complex historical context and context, and there is no simple solution to the complex problem, but through China's efforts, the power to promote peace is rising. Chen Wenxin concluded.
It is worth noting that even the Biden administration has begun to reverse its previous statements questioning China's sincerity in persuading peace and promoting talks, and welcomes China's role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis. According to the Washington Post, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken changed his tone in an interview earlier this month, acknowledging that there were positive contents in the "position paper" proposed by China, and also praised the recent phone call between Chinese and Ukrainian leaders. The article analyzes that the Biden administration seems to be weighing whether to cooperate with China and seek a negotiated solution to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
"China and the United States are not without common interests in the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis." Chen Wenxin analyzed that the protracted, expanded and complicated Ukraine crisis has a major impact on global economy and trade, finance, energy, food, industrial chain and supply chain. Managing the crisis is also one of the U.S. government's interests in the Ukraine crisis.
In addition, as the Ukraine crisis continues, the European allies of the United States may change their positions, which is also a situation that the United States does not want to see. Chen Wenxin specifically explained that this involves continuing to arch the fire or promoting dialogue and negotiation, or whether to let the crisis continue or end the crisis as soon as possible, after all, the European security order is most affected by the crisis.
"So, just as the United States wants both China to cooperate and suppress China, the United States wants to reap strategic interests from the Ukraine crisis and prevent the damage to its interests by the long-term Ukraine crisis." Chen concluded.
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