Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow for a summit with Russia’s president in the coming months.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, referring to people familiar with the plans, Beijing says it wants to play a more active role aimed at ending the conflict, and the people familiar with Mr. Xi’s trip plans said a meeting with Mr. Putin would be part of a push for multiparty peace talks and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used.

Western capitals have expressed skepticism about China’s diplomatic initiative, the broad outlines of which were first previewed last week by the country’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, at the Munich Security Conference.

According to the interlocutors, arrangements for the visit are at an early stage and the timing hasn’t been finalised, the people said. Mr. Xi could visit in April or in early May, they said, when Russia celebrates its World War II victory over Germany, an event that the Kremlin last year used to liken Ukraine’s elected leaders to Nazis.

Mr. Wang was set to visit Moscow on Tuesday to discuss China-Russia relations and "international and regional hot-spot issues of shared interest," China’s Foreign Ministry said. Mr. Wang will likely discuss Mr. Xi’s trip while he is in Moscow, the people familiar with the summit planning said.