European Union officials have clashed with the Chinese special envoy for Ukraine during talks in Brussels, indicating a wide gulf remains between the two sides about the war, now in its third year.
In a series of meetings on Monday and Tuesday, EU representatives were treated to a “full dose of Moscow’s talking points” from Li Hui, Beijing’s special envoy to Eurasia, according to several people familiar with the talks.
Li, who landed in the Belgian capital direct from Russia on Monday, will travel to Warsaw and then Kyiv, where sources said he is expected on Thursday. He is then scheduled to loop back to Paris and Berlin afterwards.
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The Chinese diplomat’s mission, according to his ministry, is to “mediate and build consensus” on a war which is estimated to have cost hundreds of thousands of lives since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. China claims to be neutral in the conflict, but is seen by the US and its European allies to have sided with Russia.
Li with Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin in Moscow on Saturday. Photo: Xinhua alt=Li with Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin in Moscow on Saturday. Photo: Xinhua>
Over a long dinner meeting on Monday night followed by discussions on Tuesday, these suspicions were, in the minds of multiple EU sources, confirmed.
Li was seen mainly to have echoed the Kremlin’s points of view, telling EU officials that no discussion on Ukraine’s territorial integrity would take place until the violence stops – which, he said, could only happen when the EU stops sending weapons to Ukraine.
He told the EU to stop sanctioning Chinese companies, because they may be needed for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. Last month, three Chinese trading companies were blacklisted by Brussels for allegedly funnelling goods made in Europe to the Russian military.
In a short account of Monday’s meeting, China’s foreign ministry said Li “firmly opposes the EU’s inclusion of Chinese companies in the latest sanctions list against Russia, and urges the EU to unconditionally cancel Chinese companies on the list”.
According to the sources, Li told EU officials that the Russian economy was thriving and that Putin was riding high in opinion polls.
Punching back, one member of the European side told Li that if you “murder all the opposition, your ratings would also be high”, referring to the recent death of Alexei Navalny.
The Europeans warned that, despite headwinds, the bloc’s support for Ukraine would be unwavering, and that China’s backing of Russia’s talking points would continue to be ruinous for bilateral relations.
People involved said that Li’s positions had not changed since his last European tour in May 2023, when he brought China’s 12-point proposal for ending the war to the same capitals.
Mourners attend the funeral ceremony near Odesa, Ukraine, on Tuesday for the Kravetz family, who lost five members including three children in a Russian drone attack. Photo: EPA-EFE alt=Mourners attend the funeral ceremony near Odesa, Ukraine, on Tuesday for the Kravetz family, who lost five members including three children in a Russian drone attack. Photo: EPA-EFE>
In this regard, there is a residual feeling among Brussels sources that the tour is a way of “de-risking China’s relationship with Russia” – by being seen to engage with Ukraine and its allies – rather than an effort to end the conflict.
Li can expect to hear similar messages in Berlin, Paris and Warsaw, the sources said, with efforts behind the scenes in Europe to ensure they are on the same page.
The EU representatives reiterated demands for Beijing to take practical measures to prove it is not siding with Russia, such as helping to secure the return of Ukrainian children transported to Russia, or ensuring the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, which has been occupied by Russian forces.
The Chinese mission to the EU did not respond to an interview request.
The meetings took place as Ukraine struggles militarily, losing ground to Russian forces and pushing Western allies to move more quickly to replenish depleted ammunition stocks.
European allies have bogged down in arguments about the nature and cost of the support they are providing. And in the US, a military aid bill has stalled in the House of Representatives, even as former president Donald Trump, who might pull back support for Kyiv, campaigns for re-election against Joe Biden, the White House incumbent.
With this backdrop, Ukraine has been bolstering its engagement with Beijing. The two nations’ foreign ministers met last month on the sidelines of a security summit in Munich, and Li’s trip to Kyiv this week will be his second since the war broke out.
“The tides of war have been changing, and that puts Ukraine under more pressure with regards to outreach to players that could have an impact or an influence such as China,” said Roderick Kefferputz, an expert on Sino-Russian relations and a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
“At the same time, it makes China a lot more comfortable with this situation. Because their … ‘little brother’ is doing better than it was not too long ago,” he said, referring to Russia as the junior partner in its relations with China.
During the meetings in Brussels, Li reeled off a series of gains the Russian military had made and referred to Trump’s potential return.
The sources also said that Li had met with Swiss diplomats in Brussels, amid speculation that Switzerland would host a new round of Kyiv-endorsed talks before the summer.
Asked by the EU if Beijing would take part in Kyiv-backed multilateral talks on the conflict, Li was said to have demurred, contending that China was worried the conference would “produce a plan that is pushed down the Russians’ throat”, according to a source.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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