While the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima this weekend is expected to garner global headlines, a five-nation visit by a senior Chinese diplomat this week that includes stops in Kyiv and Moscow could shine a light on the role Beijing seeks to carve out as a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Li Hui, Beijing’s special representative for Eurasian affairs, is set to kick off his trip with a visit to Ukraine on Tuesday and Wednesday, media reports said. He is then slated to travel to Poland, France, Germany and Russia, making China one of just a handful of countries to send representatives to both parties in the conflict.
The trip was first broached by Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — the first time they had spoken since the war erupted — late last month.