CHINA is due to send a special envoy to Ukraine and Russia next week in an effort to help reach a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, its Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Li Hui, China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs and a former ambassador to Moscow, will also visit Poland, France and Germany, spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

Beijing’s plan to help bring about peace in Ukraine received a frosty response from the United States and its allies, who have yet to propose their own roadmap towards ending hostilities.

Chinese president Xi Jinping spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month, setting the stage for the latest diplomatic push.

“The visit of the Chinese representative to relevant countries expresses China’s commitment to promoting peace and negotiations,” Mr Wang said at a daily briefing on Friday.

Mr Wang added that China wished to prevent an “escalation of the situation.”

Mr Li’s visits are to begin next week, but his detailed schedule has not been released.

Beijing has previously avoided involvement in conflicts between other countries, but managed to broker talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March that led them to restore diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.

Mr Wang also confirmed that China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan held talks on Wednesday and Thursday in Vienna, Austria. 

Mr Wang said the two sides had “candid, in-depth, substantive, and constructive discussions” on stabilising and improving bilateral relations.

China-US relations are at a historic low and nosedived in February after the US shot down a balloon that had flown across North America, claiming it was a Chinese spying device. 

The incident led to the postponement of a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing, which has yet to be rescheduled.