China does not rule out possibility of meeting between Xi Jinping and Zelenskyy

This was stated by China's Permanent Representative to the EU, Fu Cong, as quoted by the Financial Times.

The United States and its allies reportedly accuse China of harming the global trading system through the use of massive industrial subsidies, restrictions on domestic investment, and violations of intellectual property protection.

Ratification of the EU-China investment agreement stalled in 2021 after Beijing imposed sanctions on members of the European Parliament. Fu expressed hope that the EU leadership "muster enough courage and also political force" to finally approve the agreement.

When asked whether China would lift sanctions to unblock the process, he said that Beijing is open to "all solutions, so long as they are based on reciprocity and equality."

In addition, the ambassador said it would be a mistake for the EU to allow the Russia-Ukraine war to dictate its relations with China.

"I don’t think it is a rational approach to link the relationship with China solely to the Ukrainian crisis," he said, adding that Russia's "legitimate security interests” must be respected: “It is not as black and white as some people think it is." 

At the same time, he argues that there is "room for negotiation and even for China and the EU to join our hands in promoting peace."

He added that "the possibility" of a potential phone call or meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is "not excluded," noting that Chinese officials are in contact with their Ukrainian counterparts.

• On the anniversary of the outbreak of full-scale war, China published its vision of how to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

• On March 20, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow, which lasted 4.5 hours. 

• On March 21, at a meeting in the Kremlin with Putin, Xi Jinping said that "conflicts must ultimately be resolved through dialogue and negotiation," commenting on the war in Ukraine.

• On March 29, Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Xi Jinping to visit Ukraine. 

• At the same time, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it positively assessed the invitation to visit Ukraine sent by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

• Later, Defense Express editor-in-chief Katkov said that if China decides to help Russia, it will most likely not supply weapons officially, but will look for workarounds to avoid sanctions.