Major powers should work with China for political settlement of Ukraine crisis

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held phone talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

During their conversation, Xi reiterated China's core position on promoting peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, and announced that Beijing will send a special representative on Eurasian affairs to visit Ukraine and other countries to conduct in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the crisis.

The phone call provides a further illustration of China's willingness to mediate in the prolonged crisis besetting the world for more than one year, and of the responsible role China plays in promoting world peace and stability.

China's commitment to helping achieve the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis reminds the headline-grabbing rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran not long ago, which was also a result of China's selfless diplomatic work.

Persuading Russia and Ukraine to sit down at the negotiating table is indeed a much harder task. Fortunately, voices for peace and rationality are building. More people are waking up to the fact that a protracted crisis to some extent is detrimental to everyone in the world, and dialogue is the sole viable way out.

Those who refuse to endorse peace and add fuel to the fire are possessed by their mindset of bloc confrontation or care only about selfish gains from the tragedy.

As a responsible member of the international community, China has been making efforts to ease tensions and promote peace talks since the start of the crisis.

In February 2023, the Chinese Foreign Ministry released a paper stating Beijing's position on the Ukraine crisis, putting forward a 12-point proposal to end the conflict by addressing both the symptoms and the root causes of the crisis, and reiterating the necessity to end the conflict through dialogue and negotiations.

During a state visit to Russia a month later, Xi had an in-depth exchange of views on the Ukraine issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, pledging that China would continue to play a constructive role in promoting the political settlement of the crisis.

Contrary to some countries treating the crisis in a biased and partial way, China has been nudging the two sides into the restoration of peace by upholding balanced and impartial stance.

On the Ukrainian side, while pledging to send a special envoy during the phone talks between Xi and Zelensky, China also vowed to keep providing help for the country.

In response, the Ukrainian president thanked China for providing humanitarian assistance and welcomed China's important role in restoring peace and seeking diplomatic solution to the crisis.

China and Russia have blazed a path of major-country relations featuring strategic trust and good neighborliness. Meanwhile, China-Ukraine relations have gone through 31 years of development and reached the level of strategic partnership.

Moreover, China is not the creator of the crisis, nor a party directly concerned. That gives Beijing the diplomatic room and qualification to give a full ear to the demands and concerns of both Russia and Ukraine and play a responsible role in the settlement of the crisis.

As for all other parties who truly expect an early end to the crisis and restoration of peace, they should join China's efforts and build up favorable conditions for the political settlement of the crisis.