BEIJING \u2014 China\u2019s Ukraine envoy called on other governments Friday to \u201cstop sending weapons to the battlefield\u201d and appealed for peace talks at a time when Washington and its European allies are ramping up supplies of missiles and tanks to Ukrainian forces trying to recapture Russian-occupied territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Li Hui said Russian and Ukrainian officials were open to peace negotiations, but he gave no indication they were any closer to happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chinese leader Xi Jinping\u2019s government says it is neutral and wants to serve as a mediator but has supported Moscow politically. Foreign analysts saw little chance of progress from Li\u2019s visits to the countries because neither side is ready to stop fighting, but sending an envoy gave Beijing a opportunity to expand its global diplomatic role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChina believes that if we really want to put an end to war, to save lives and realize peace, it is important for us to stop sending weapons to the battlefield, or else the tensions will only spiral up,\u201d Li told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China is the only major government that has good relations with both Russia and Ukraine and has leverage as one of the biggest export markets for both. Xi\u2019s decision to send an envoy was welcomed by the Ukrainian government but prompted questions about China\u2019s motives after Beijing declared it had a \u201cno limits\u2019 friendship with the Kremlin ahead of the February 2022 invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beijing released a proposed peace plan in February, but Ukraine\u2019s allies insisted President Vladimir Putin must first withdraw Russian forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChina\u2019s goal is promoting peace talks and a cessation of hostilities,\u201d said Li, a former ambassador to Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
European governments promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy missiles, tanks and drones when he visited Britain, France and Germany in mid-May. Ukraine has received Patriot anti-missile systems from the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. The United States, Spain, Germany and France have pledged a total of 300 tanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. President Joe Biden earlier warned Xi of unspecified consequences if Beijing provided arms or military supplies to support Russia\u2019s invasion. China is buying more Russian oil and gas, which helps to shore up the Kremlin\u2019s export revenue after the United States, Europe and Japan cut off most purchases, but it appears to be avoiding anything that might trigger Western sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Li repeated Beijing\u2019s call for respect for the \u201cterritorial integrity of all countries\u201d but gave no indication China was pressing Moscow to give back captured territory. Putin\u2019s forces occupy the Crimean Peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine with mainly Russian-speaking populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChina advocates for a balanced and just way to address security concerns,\u201d Li said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Li, who also visited Poland, France, Germany and the European Union headquarters, said Beijing was ready to send a second delegation to discuss a possible \u201cpolitical settlement\u201d but gave no indication what China\u2019s next move might be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Li referred several times to outsiders \u201cadding fuel to the fire\u201d and making comments that \u201cexacerbate the situation.\u201d He didn\u2019t name any party but used language Chinese officials invoke when criticizing U.S. dominance in global affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho is the real troublemaker in the world and the real security threat in the world? The global community has a keen understanding of that,\u201d Li said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Li defended Beijing\u2019s \u201cstrategic partnership of coordination\u201d with Russia as more beneficial to the world than other governments he didn\u2019t name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCompared with some countries\u2019 actions, clinging to Cold War mentality, ganging up with other countries, creating small circles for bloc confrontation and carrying out hegemonic bullying actions, these are completely different practices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Li criticized a report by The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified officials, that he had proposed a cease-fire that would leave Russia in control of Ukrainian territory. He rejected that as \u201cnot in line with the facts\u201d and suggested whoever spread that story might want to sabotage peace efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is a move to sow discord between China and Ukraine,\u201d Li said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Li also called for steps to protect the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, adding to appeals by the International Atomic Energy Agency this week for both sides to commit to preventing any attack on the facility to avoid a \u201ccatastrophic incident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fighting on seven occasions has disrupted power supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll parties need to shoulder their responsibility for ensuring the safety of nuclear facilities and to cool down the situation,\u201d Li said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China Ukraine envoy’s appeal comes as Washington and its European allies are ramping up supplies of missiles, tanks and other weapons to Ukrainian forces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":106868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,93,12,25,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1167],"class_list":["post-67939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-marine-corps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"XZZWLHMRIVGGDLPE273Y6YPBIU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2023\/06\/02\/china-ukraine-envoy-urges-allies-to-stop-sending-weapons-to-kyiv\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n