Chinese, Ukrainian ministers meet days after Zelensky slams Beijing over Russia relations

Senior Chinese and Ukrainian ministers met in Beijing on Wednesday in the first meeting of its kind since Russia's invasion more than two years ago.

The meeting between Chinese foreign-vice minister Sun Weidong and Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine's first deputy foreign minister, followed President Volodymyr Zelensky's open criticism of Beijing over the weekend which has raised specualtion relations between the two countries may have reached a "turning point".

Sybiha "informed his counterpart about the situation in Ukraine and preparations for the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland" and urged Beijing to send a delegation to the conference later this month, according to the Ukrainian foreign ministry.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

"The Ukrainian side expressed its hope that the participation of the People's Republic of China in the said event could become a good opportunity to make a practical contribution to the establishment of just and lasting peace in Ukraine," the ministry said.

Since the war started in February 2022, Zelensky has been reluctant to openly criticise China and its growing alignment with Moscow, but speaking to reporters at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday he accused Beijing of trying to stop other countries attending the talks in Switzerland.

"Russia, using Chinese influence in the region, using Chinese diplomats also, does everything to disrupt the peace summit," he said.

He also claimed that Chinese economic and technology flows to Russia were helping it wage war, and that Beijing had not responded to requests for a meeting.

"Ukraine has no powerful connection with China because the Chinese side does not want it," he added.

China has repeatedly denied supplying weapons to Russia, and Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for foreign ministry, has denied that Beijing had worked to disrupt Ukraine's peace summit. Zelensky did not produce evidence to support his claim on Sunday.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said "conditions are not yet ready for peace talks" and that China would "make its own decisions" on attending such meetings.

In Wednesday's meeting, Sybiha also told Sun that "the only foundation to achieve such peace is the peace formula of President Volodymyr Zelensky".

However, the Chinese statement made no mention of the request for China to attend the summit or even the war in Ukraine, saying only that Sun reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to work with Kyiv, "carry forward the fine tradition of mutual respect and sincere treatment ... and safeguard and develop China-Ukraine relations".

According to Beijing, Sybiha also said Ukraine was willing to boost cooperation in multiple areas.

Vita Golod, chair of the Ukrainian Association of Sinologists, said while Wednesday's meeting could be seen as an effort to stablise relations which have been strained by Russia's invasion, Zelensky's public rebuke could be "a turning point in Ukrainian official rhetoric towards China".

Sun Weidong and Andriy Sybiha met in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Weibo/ Ukrainian Embassy in Beijing alt=Sun Weidong and Andriy Sybiha met in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Weibo/ Ukrainian Embassy in Beijing>

She said there was deep disappointment behind the criticism of Beijing as the Ukrainian leader sought broader support for his embattled country.

Zelensky's peace formula includes steps to ensure food and nuclear security and the exchange of prisoners of war - all of which are in line with Beijing's own peace formula, Golod said.

"The Global Peace Summit in Switzerland this month will be the result of Ukraine's extensive diplomatic efforts around the world. Ukrainian diplomacy at various levels, including our diplomats in Beijing, has been working hard to ensure the presence of as many countries as possible."

Yang Cheng, executive dean of the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies, said Beijing was unlikely to risk its reputation "by doing what Zelensky accused it of doing".

"It is clear that Zelensky's intention in making his remarks was more to avoid such a scenario," Yang said. "However, such expressions could have a negative impact on China's strategic judgement of Zelensky and Sino-Ukrainian relations."

He added that China's neutral stance on the war mirrored that of India and Turkey. "In Ukraine, the strategic goal is to get more international aid to end the war as soon as possible and force Russia to return to its pre-2014 state", Yang said, referring to the border before Russia annexed Crimea and occupied the Donbas.

Golod said a breakthrough is unlikely. "The most pessimistic scenario for our future bilateral relations is the Lithuanian scenario," she said.

"The most optimistic scenario is maintaining the status quo of 'slow' diplomatic dialogue, focusing on trade relations."

Lithuania, which regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, has taken a much tougher stance towards Beijing in recent years and sought closer ties with Taiwan.

Although Lithuania, in common with most countries, does not officially recognise Taiwan as an independent state, Beijing downgraded its diplomatic ties with Vilnius in 2021 for allowing Taiwan, which it sees as its own territory, to open a de facto embassy there.

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.

Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.