China will send its special representative for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, to Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany and Russia from Monday in a major sweep through Europe to find a solution to the war in Ukraine.
China will be one of the few countries to send envoys to both sides of the conflict, while Li, a vice-ministerial level diplomat, will be the most senior Chinese official to set foot on Ukrainian soil since Russia mounted its invasion in February 2022.
"The visit of Chinese representatives to relevant countries is another demonstration of China's commitment to promoting peace and talks. It fully demonstrates that China is firmly on the side of peace," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, announcing the trip on Friday.
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"The current crisis in Ukraine has been protracted, is escalating, and the spillover effect continues.
"China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in building more international consensus on a ceasefire, initiation of peace talks, and prevention of escalation of the situation ... to promote a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis."
The special representative's visit was first announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky last month, their first conversation since the war began.
Li has a wealth of experience in the region. He was the Chinese ambassador to Russia between 2009 and 2019 and is a familiar face to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has also previously served as head of Eastern European and Central Asian affairs in the foreign ministry.
His visit comes as Kyiv says it has regained significant ground in the city of Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk, a rare Ukrainian advance after months of heavy fighting in the area.
Russia earlier denied Ukraine had made any breakthroughs in Bakhmut.
It also comes as Ukraine prepares to mount a major spring counteroffensive, although Zelensky said on Friday that his country needed more time and equipment to launch the attacks.
Wang Yiwei, a Renmin University professor who specialises in European studies, said China hoped to use Li's visit to hear the positions of the various countries and strive for a consensus among them.
"[France, Germany and Poland] are [among] the main suppliers of weapons and financial assistance [to Ukraine], and whether Ukraine can win its spring offensive depends largely on the support of these countries," he said.