US Ukraine crisis Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

US President Joe Biden will not attend the upcoming Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland, a decision that Chinese analysts said exposes that Washington "lacks confidence" in the actual effect of the meeting.

Instead, Vice President Kamala Harris and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will represent the US during the two-day event in Lucerne starting June 15, reported Politico, citing a White House statement on Monday.

Chinese analysts believe Biden's absence indicates that the US does not have high expectations for the outcome of this meeting, and presence of Harris is more about expressing a gesture and etiquette.

This time, Washington appears to have upset Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who described the decision as one that "would only be met by an applause by Putin," Politico reported.

According to the media report, the Ukrainians had hoped that Biden would put in an appearance, given his plans to attend France's D-Day anniversary celebrations and a meeting of G7 leaders in Italy in the days leading up to the summit.

Instead, Biden appears set to attend a Hollywood fundraising event planned for the summit weekend.

Recently Harris has become a regular attendee at international events related to Russia-Ukraine conflict, and this time is no exception, which again reveals that the US actually lacks confidence in this so-called peace summit - which excludes Russia, Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Perhaps for the US, it does not believe that the timing for a true political solution is ripe," Cui said, noting that Biden may also have a consideration of not stepping in until a critical moment.

Ukraine reportedly has already secured promises from more than 100 countries to attend, according to Zelensky's office.

Regarding China's decision of not attending this conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told press on Monday that China has repeatedly stressed that the international peace conference needs to meet three important elements: recognition from both Russia and Ukraine, equal participation of all parties, and fair discussion of all peace plans.

As far as China is concerned, the meeting does not yet seem to meet these three elements and that is exactly why China would not be able to take part in the meeting, Mao stated.

We attach importance to the work done by Switzerland for the preparation for the peace conference, and have repeatedly put forward constructive opinions to the Swiss side, which has always been positively evaluated and appreciated. There are many conferences in the world today. Whether or not and how to participate will be decided by China according to its own position, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, told reporters on Tuesday in Beijing, when commenting on the Ukraine crisis.

According to media outlets, the Kremlin said on Friday that it was futile to hold such an event without Russia's participation.

"Seeking a way out of the situation in the Ukrainian conflict without Russia's participation is absolutely illogical, futile and a waste of time," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Chinese analysts also expressed their concern over the real effect of this peace conference. If this meeting turns into a one-sided condemnation of Russia by the US and the West, the influence of the event will be discounted. 

"There could be actually nothing new, and it [the outcome of the meeting] may not reflect that Ukraine or the West is ready to push for a true cease-fire and peace," Cui said.

If there are some more different voices at this meeting, including those from some other non-Western countries, such peace talks may have follow-ups in the future, as this may truly demonstrate the growing forces in the world to pursue peace, Cui believes.