#Al Thaer


Irena Haro


Li Hui, the Chinese government's special representative for Eurasian affairs and head of China's delegation to the Russia-Ukraine crisis settlement, is continuing his tour, which will take him to Moscow, Brussels, Warsaw, Berlin, and Paris.
The head of the Chinese delegation, Li Hui, visited Kyiv on 8 March. In Kyiv, talks were held at the level of the Head of the Presidential Administration, Andriy Yermak, who is Ukraine's chief negotiator in the search for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. The meeting was also attended by First Deputy Prime Minister Yuliya Sviridenko and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba from the Ukrainian side. Following the talks, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Li Hui had 'frank and friendly talks on Sino-Ukrainian relations and the Ukrainian crisis'.
In Moscow, Mikhail Galuzin received Li Hui, a non-core, little-known and little-influential deputy foreign minister.
A more detailed report on the results of Li Hui's meeting in Moscow was published on 2 March. But its tone was noticeably "cooler": "Ambassador Li said that two years have passed since the Ukrainian crisis fully escalated. History shows that conflicts must ultimately be resolved through dialogue and negotiation. The more acute the problem, the more important it is to spare no effort to engage in dialogue. China is willing to continue its efforts to promote peace talks, conduct shuttle diplomacy, mediate and build consensus among Russia, Ukraine and other relevant parties, and promote the final political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis". As the tour progresses, there is growing evidence that the primary purpose of Li Hui's trips is to signal Beijing's displeasure with Moscow. Relations between the two countries are cooling.
Even though Russia constantly claims it is interested in negotiations, Ukraine is showing greater interest. This is evident from the reception given to the Chinese envoy who was tasked with finding a diplomatic solution.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry's statements following the talks in Moscow and Kyiv clearly show that Beijing considers Ukraine's approach more constructive than Russia's. Li Hui's entire tour signals that China is not satisfied with Russia's uncompromising stance and is ready to pay more attention to the positions of Kyiv and European capitals.
China will not "take Kyiv's side" but will talk tougher to Moscow. This is already evident in the tone of its statements and in the actions of Chinese banks, which are refusing to service Russian financial transactions.
With this tour, the Chinese side is making it clear that it is prepared to talk to Kyiv in a friendly tone and to Moscow—but only from a position of strength.
For China, Russia is a market that can take cheap resources and dump plastic cars. No matter how much Putin pampers himself with tales of the "third power" and the "multipolar world". This "special operation" resulted in Russia being under China.


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