National flags of China, Ukraine Photo: VCG

The special representative of the Chinese government to Ukraine will be someone who is familiar with relevant affairs and can play a positive role in promoting peace talks, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday, one day after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talked on the phone discussing bilateral ties and the Ukraine crisis.

Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said that the ministry will release further information on the matter in due course, meanwhile stressing that China will continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.

During the phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Xi stressed that China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country, will not choose to be a bystander to the Ukraine crisis, or "add fuel to the fire," or use the crisis as an opportunity to make a profit.

"On the Ukraine crisis, China always stands on the side of peace, and China's core position is to promote peace via talks," Xi noted.

Everything China does is aboveboard. Dialogue and negotiation are the only viable way forward. There is no winner in nuclear wars, the Chinese president said.

On the nuclear issue, all relevant parties must stay calm and exercise restraint, truly act in the interests of their own future and that of humanity, and jointly manage the crisis, Mao said at Thursday's press briefing, adding that with rational thinking and voices now on the rise, it is important to seize the opportunity and build up favorable conditions for the political settlement of the crisis.

Mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is the political foundation of China-Ukraine relations. China's readiness to develop relations with Ukraine is consistent and clear-cut. No matter how the international situation evolves, China will work with Ukraine to advance mutually beneficial cooperation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterated. 

Zelenskyy on Wednesday appointed Pavlo Ryabikin, a former minister of strategic industries, as Ukraine's new ambassador to China, according to a decree posted on the website of the Ukrainian president.

China welcomes Ukraine's newly appointed ambassador to China and is willing to make his fulfillment of duty as convenient as possible, Mao noted at the press conference.

Global Times