Speaking with Zelensky, Xi Jinping made clear China's core position of persuading peace and promoting talks

Beijing, 4 Apr (ZXS) -- "On the issue of the Ukraine crisis, China has always stood on the side of peace, and its core position is to persuade peace and promote talks. Chinese President Xi Jinping had a telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the 27th, and the two sides exchanged views on China-Ukraine relations and the Ukrainian crisis.

It was a pivotal call that attracted the world's attention. Experts on international issues interviewed by China News Agency pointed out that at the bilateral level, communication and exchanges between the two heads of state will be conducive to promoting the steady development of China-Ukraine relations. At the regional level, in the face of the delay of the Ukraine crisis, through this key phone call, China once again stated its core position of persuasion and promotion of talks, and specific measures such as "sending the special representative of the Chinese government for Eurasian affairs to visit Ukraine and other countries" sent a signal that China is more actively involved in promoting the process of persuasion and talks.

Looking back at the 31-year development of China-Ukraine relations, the two sides have reached the level of strategic partnership and have always maintained close high-level exchanges. In July 2021, the two heads of state pointed out the direction of cooperation between the two countries in various fields during the phone call, and the foreign ministers of the two countries have met or called many times in recent years.

During the call, Xi Jinping said that mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is the political foundation of China-Ukraine relations. China's willingness to develop China-Ukraine relations is consistent and clear. No matter how the international situation changes, China is willing to work with Uzbekistan to push forward mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

"Whether it is since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Ukraine 31 years ago, or since Zelensky became the president of Ukraine in 2019, the development of China-Ukraine relations has always been steadily advancing." Han Lu, deputy director of the Eurasia Institute of the China Institute of International Studies, pointed out that "China expressed its positive willingness to continue to promote the steady development of bilateral relations through dialogue, and both sides also stressed the importance of China-Ukraine relations during the phone call." ”

Zelensky said during the call that Ukraine abides by the one-China policy and hopes to carry out comprehensive cooperation with China, open a new chapter in Ukrainian-Chinese relations, and work together to maintain world peace and stability. After the call, Zelensky also said on social media that the telephone conversation was "meaningful" and believed that this call will "inject strong impetus" into the development of bilateral relations between Ukraine and China.

In addition to bilateral relations, the two heads of state also focused on exchanging views on the Ukraine crisis during the phone call. Since the sudden escalation of the crisis in Ukraine last year, its spillover effects have continued to affect the world. For the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, Xi Jinping has successively put forward "four shoulds", "four commons" and "three thoughts", and on this basis, China has also issued the document "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukrainian Crisis", which is known as China's "peace plan" to deal with the Ukrainian crisis.

Recently, whether during foreign visits or when receiving foreign dignitaries visiting China, discussing the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis has been an important topic in China's head of state diplomacy. China has always adhered to an objective and fair position, and is an advocate of political settlement of the crisis and a promoter of peace talks.

In the phone call with Zelensky, Xi Jinping once again made it clear that on the issue of the Ukraine crisis, China has always stood on the side of peace, and its core position is to persuade peace and promote talks.

Zhao Huirong, director of the Ukraine Research Office of the Institute of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that China's clear exposition of its principled position in bilateral exchanges will help Ukraine to more accurately and intuitively understand China's consistent core position, and on the other hand, it will convey China's willingness to contact and communicate with all parties to promote the situation to cool down as a responsible major country.

It is undeniable that since the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, some Western countries have interpreted China's position through "colored glasses", and even made remarks that blamed China. During the call, Xi stressed that China is not the creator of the Ukrainian crisis, nor is it a party. As permanent members of the UN Security Council and responsible major powers, we will neither watch the fire from afar, nor pour fuel on the fire, nor do we take advantage of the opportunity to make profits.

"China's core position of persuading peace and promoting talks is in stark contrast to the words and deeds of individual Western countries, and it is precisely the relevant countries that continue to misinterpret China's position." Li Yongquan, president of the China-Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia Society, said, "China's clear statement will help eliminate the misreading space of the outside world and expose the real purpose of individual countries to blame." ”

Liu Xu, deputy director of the Institute of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the School of International Relations of Chinese Minmin University, further pointed out that the escalation and delay of the Ukrainian crisis is related to the fact that individual countries have added fuel to the fire and taken advantage of the opportunity to make profits, and relevant countries have tried to bind China to the Ukrainian crisis through their own narratives. Through communication with Ukraine, China has clearly expressed its resolute attitude to the outside world, and what China has done is upright.

During the call, China's core position was also positively responded by Ukraine. Zelensky noted that China is welcome to play an important role in restoring peace and resolving the crisis through diplomatic means. Andrei Sibiha, deputy director of the Office of the President of Ukraine and adviser on foreign policy, also commented on social media: "Another important step towards stopping the war." ”

The outside world also paid special attention to the two specific measures mentioned by Xi Jinping in the phone call with Zelensky: first, he will send the special representative of the Chinese government for Eurasian affairs to visit Ukraine and other countries to conduct in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis; second, on the basis of providing multiple batches of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, China is willing to continue to provide assistance within its capacity.

In this regard, Liu Xu analyzed that the dispatch of a special representative by China will help to participate more directly and flexibly in the process of persuading peace and promoting talks on the Ukraine crisis, which not only reflects China's consistent attitude of political settlement of the crisis, but also helps China communicate and coordinate its core position with other parties more directly and effectively.

"Whether it is sending special representatives or providing humanitarian assistance, the concrete measures show that China is both an advocate and a practitioner of peace." Zhao Huirong pointed out that China has always been committed to making its own efforts to stop the war and restore peace as soon as possible by persuading peace and promoting talks, and taking concrete actions. (End)