China's point man in Ukraine, Li Hui, has been tasked with what some believe is an impossible mission - trying to broker peace.
Li, Beijing's special envoy for Eurasian Affairs since 2019, is a fluent Russian speaker and spent 10 years as ambassador to Russia - but observers say this does not mean he will be biased towards Moscow.
After last week's phone call between Presidents Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelensky, the Chinese foreign ministry announced that Li would "travel to Ukraine and other countries for in-depth communications with different parties for a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis".
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It remains to see how far Beijing's mediation can go when neither Moscow nor Kyiv has shown any willingness to back down, but China is keen to play a role in ending a conflict that has had a major impact on global politics, economics and supply chains.
Li, who spent 10 years as ambassador to Russia, was promoted to special envoy status in 2019. His status as a former deputy foreign minister gives him more weight when communicating Beijing's message, according to Li Lifan, a specialist in Russia and Central Asia at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
"His rank is higher than many Chinese ambassadors in those countries, which gives more weight to the messages and words he can deliver," said the academic, who is not related to the diplomat.
Li joined the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of Soviet and East European Affairs in 1975 at a time when Beijing and Moscow were close to war, and he has devoted his entire career to handling China's relationship with the Soviet Union and its successor states.
He was made vice-foreign minister in 2008 and sent to Moscow as ambassador a year later, becoming the longest-serving ambassador in Moscow during a 10-year stint.
In that time Xi Jinping made nine official trips to Russia, while bilateral trade almost tripled from US$38.8 billion in 2009 to US$107 billion in 2018.
Months before Li's departure, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented him with a friendship medal for his role in improving relations between the two countries.
Li Lifan said the special envoy's decades-long experience in the Russian-speaking world gave him unique advantages.
"Apparently he has built some connections during those years, allowing him to exchange views with officials in Kyiv and Moscow and other European capitals," he said.