Special representative of the Chinese government, Li Hui, allegedly tried to convince the European vis-a-vis that they should call for a ceasefire in Ukraine, recognising the occupied Ukrainian territories as those belonging to Russia.

"The Chinese ambassador dispatched to push Beijing's peace plan for Ukraine carried a clear message: US allies in Europe should assert their autonomy and urge an immediate cease-fire, leaving Russia in possession of the parts of its smaller neighbour it now occupies, according to Western officials familiar talks in capitals across the continent," reports The Wall Street Journal with reference to Western officials familiar with the progress of Li Hui's negotiations in European capitals.

China's Foreign Ministry has not yet responded to a request for comment.

The mentioned officials said that Li Hui, who has visited Kyiv, Warsaw, Berlin, Paris and Brussels this month, urged European governments to view China as an economic alternative to Washington and said they should move quickly to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine before it spreads. They didn’t think peace would be possible until Russian troops left Ukraine.

According to another WSJ interlocutor, China’s main interests appeared to be to ensure that Russia doesn’t lose the war and that Moscow refrains from using nuclear weapons.

Li was supposed to arrive in Moscow on Friday, 26 May.