Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has arrived in Beijing for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion for talks geared toward finding a possible Chinese role in ending the war.
The three-day visit began on July 23, with Ukraine's top diplomat traveling at the invitation of Wang Yi, his Chinese counterpart.
Upon arriving in Beijing, Kuleba said in an Instagram post that he would use his trip to develop contacts between Chinese and Ukrainian leaders and that he would be having "extensive, detailed, [and] substantive negotiations" with Wang over how to reach a peace settlement for the grinding war that is now in its third year.
"We must avoid competing peace plans. It is very important that Kyiv and Beijing conduct a direct dialogue and exchange positions," Kuleba said.
The trip is Kuleba's first visit to China since Russia's war in Ukraine began in February 2022 and is seen as unexpected by many observers given Beijing's close relationship with Moscow and diplomatic maneuvering that has often seen Chinese diplomats keep their distance from high-level Ukrainian officials.
The meeting also comes as various peace initiatives have emerged in recent months against the backdrop of prolonged fighting and uncertainty ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November that could see the return of former President Donald Trump, who has threatened to limit aid flows to Ukraine and push for talks between Kyiv and Moscow that could quickly end the war.
In June, Kyiv held an international summit without Russian representation in Switzerland to promote its vision of peace. The gathering hosted delegations from 100 countries, and Ukraine has since said that it hopes to be ready to hold another one in November that would feature envoys from Moscow.
China, which did not attend the Swiss summit, published a separate six-point peace plan with Brazil in the weeks leading up to the gathering where they called for a separate international peace conference to be held that would have both representation from Kyiv and Moscow.
This alternative diplomatic track led to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy offering his most vocal criticism yet of Beijing since the war began, where he said that China's efforts were undermining the Swiss peace talks by pushing some countries to not attend and others to not sign the final communique.
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"China, unfortunately...is working hard today for countries not to come to the peace summit," Zelenskiy said in Singapore on June 2.
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Despite expressing neutrality toward the war in Ukraine, China has emerged as the Kremlin's leading international supporter by supplying Russia with key components that Moscow needs for its production of weapons and as a vital consumer for oil and gas that has helped boost the Russian economy.
Western governments have also accused China of providing crucial support to Russia during the war, with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg saying Beijing's assistance to Moscow has made it a "decisive enabler" of the war.
"Allies have stated clearly that China cannot enable the largest conflict in Europe in recent history without this negatively impacting their interests and reputation," Stoltenberg said on July 11 at the NATO summit in Washington.
China, meanwhile, says its ties with Russia are built on the basis of non-alliance and do not target any third party.
Kuleba's trip is also on Moscow's radar, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledging the news on July 22.
"For us, our relations with China are the main thing," he said in comments to reporters. "We intend to continue following the path of developing Russian-Chinese relations in all areas."
In February 2023, Beijing released a 12-point paper calling for a "political settlement" to the war.
The document was dismissed at the time by Western countries and Kyiv, who warned that the Chinese proposal would enable Russia to retain much of the territory it had seized in Ukraine.
In the years leading up to Moscow's full-scale invasion, Kyiv tried to build strong economic ties with Beijing as it reoriented its economy away from Russia, and found itself frustrated with some Western policy moves.
Despite Beijing's deepening ties with Moscow since the outbreak of the war, Kyiv has been hesitant to criticize China, with Zelenskiy often encouraging the country to play a role in reaching a peace settlement.