China willing to consider another Europe visit for Ukraine peace talks, envoy says

China is willing to consider sending another delegation to Europe for talks on resolving the Ukraine crisis, its special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, said on Friday.

Li told a news conference that his European trip last month, being the first visit to promote a political settlement to the crisis, may not lead to any immediate outcome.

"We felt that there is a big gap between both sides' positions," he said of Russia and Ukraine.

In May, Li completed a 12-day tour of Kyiv, Warsaw, Paris, Berlin, Brussels and Moscow in a bid to find common ground for an eventual political settlement of the Ukraine war.

"The risk of escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war is still high," Li said, adding that all sides must take concrete measures to "cool down the situation" ensure the safety of nuclear facilities.

"As long as it's conducive to easing the situation, China is willing to do anything," he said.

Li, ambassador to Russia from 2009 to 2019, is the most senior Chinese official to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

His trip came ahead of an expected counteroffensive by Ukraine to recapture territory seized by Russia.

His highly scrutinised trip did not appear to lead to any diplomatic breakthrough, however.

China has close ties with Russia and Beijing has never condemned Russia's intervention or even called it an invasion.

China says it is a neutral party in the war.

The Kremlin has said Russia was open to negotiations to end the conflict.