On Wednesday, China’s president Xi Jinping had a phone call with Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky during which he proposed talks and negotiation between all sides as the “only way out” of the war. The Chinese government has also announced that it will send a special representative to Ukraine to hold discussions with all parties involved in order to resolve the conflict.
During their discussion, Xi told Zelensky that there is no winner in a nuclear war and that all concerned should stay calm and look beyond their own interests for the future and destiny of mankind. In response, Zelensky described their conversation as ‘long and meaningful’ in a Tweet later confirmed by his office.
This marks the first meeting between the two presidents since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China has made clear its stance as a neutral mediator, recently presenting a 12-point ceasefire proposal that was met with criticism by Ukrainian allies for being one-sided and favoring the Kremlin.