Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited China recently, marking the first visit by a high-level Ukrainian official since the Russia-Ukraine war. BBC Chinese reported, according to several scholars, Kuleba’s itinerary reflected China’s cold attitude toward Ukraine. The scholars noted that the talks held with Kuleba yielded no substantial results and that they enabled the Chinese government to gather information in advance of the U.S. Presidential elections in November.
It seemed that China didn’t allow Kuleba to go visit Beijing. There was no official disclosure on the time and place of Kuleba’s arrival in China on July 23. On the day after Kuleba’s arrival there was an official announcement from Beijing saying that he would meet with Wang Yi in the southern city of Guangzhou. On July 25, Kuleba appeared in Hong Kong to meet with Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee. He left China on July 26. Throughout the trip, there was no indication that he had been to Beijing. In China’s diplomatic tradition, this kind of arrangement is rarely coincidental. The government might intentionally arrange meetings to be held outside of Beijing so as to symbolically lower the level of the meetings. Beijing may also want to avoid direct comparisons between China and Ukraine. China’s treatment of Kuleba contrasted with that of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who visited Beijing for two days in April, met with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and was received by Xi Jinping at China’s Great Hall of the People.
Kuleba’s Hong Kong visit was also intriguing. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released detailed reports and photos of Kuleba meeting with Hong Kong’s chief executive John Lee, where Kuleba urged Hong Kong not to support Russia’s evasion of sanctions. The Hong Kong government did not mention the meeting until it was pressed to do so by the media. The BBC noted that John Lee would not be able to deliver support for Ukraine even if asked, as it is Zhongnanhai and not John Lee who makes such decisions.
At the same time as Kuleba’s visit, China hosted representatives of 14 Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, in Beijing and brokered their signature of a “Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Enhancing Palestinian National Unity” on July 23. Wang Yi attended the closing ceremony following the signing of the declaration. After talking with Kuleba in Guangzhou, Wang Yi went to Laos on the next day (July 25) to attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.
Source: BBC, July 29, 2024
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-69219882