The president, Volodymyr Zelensky, would like to directly discuss Chinaʼs position on the Russian invasion with the head of this country, Xi Jinping.
He told about this in an interview with The South China Morning Post.
"I would like to speak directly. I had one conversation with Xi Jinping a year ago. Since the beginning of the large-scale aggression on February 24, we have officially asked for a conversation, but we have not had any conversation with China, although I think it would be useful," the president noted.
Zelensky added that he hoped that China would take a different approach to the war — until now, it had resisted condemning Russia for the invasion. At the same time, the president mentioned that he always wanted "the relations between Ukraine and China to strengthen and develop every year."
Zelensky emphasized that he wants China to use its enormous political and economic influence on Russia to end hostilities. "This is a very powerful state. This is a powerful economy... Therefore, it can influence Russia politically and economically. And China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council," the Ukrainian leader stated.
The Ukrainian leader also drew attention to the fact that the food crisis provoked by Russia has a negative impact on Chinaʼs economy, reducing its exports. He also invited Chinese business to participate in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.
- China officially declared that it is interested in ending the war in Ukraine as soon as possible, but sanctions against Russia do not contribute to this. The Minister of Defense of the Peopleʼs Republic of China laid the blame for the war on the USA and NATO.
- In June, the US State Department stated that it does not consider Chinaʼs position on the Russian-Ukrainian war to be neutral.