Ukraine foreign minister visits China for peace talks

Ukraine's foreign minister has arrived in China for talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on ways to achieve a "fair peace" in the war with Russia and also to discuss bilateral relations, he says.

Dmytro Kuleba's visit is the first by a high-ranking Ukrainian official since Russia's full-scale February 2022 invasion, which China's government has not publicly condemned.

Kuleba said he would hold "extensive, detailed, substantive negotiations" with his Chinese counterpart but did not say when the talks would happen.

He said earlier his trip would continue until Thursday.

"We must avoid competition between peace plans. It is very important that Kyiv and Beijing conduct a direct dialogue," he wrote in a statement on Instagram, announcing his arrival in China.

Various peace initiatives have emerged in recent months ahead of a US election in November that could return former president Donald Trump to the White House.

Trump has threatened to cut aid flows to Ukraine.

The United States under President Joe Biden has been Ukraine's biggest backer.

Ukraine is pushing to hold a second international summit later this year to advance its vision for peace after an initial gathering in Switzerland in June drew dozens of delegations from around the world but not from Russia or China.

Ukraine has said it would like its second summit to be hosted by a "Global South" country and that Russia could attend.

Ukraine has also said it would welcome China playing a more active role in ending the war.

China and Brazil published a joint six-point peace proposal in May, saying they supported the holding of an international peace conference that both sides in the war would recognise.

Kuleba said his trip to China, the first by a Ukrainian foreign minister since 2012, aimed to develop contacts between Chinese and Ukrainian leaders.

China declared a "no limits" partnership with Russia in 2022 days before the invasion and has helped Russia keep its economy afloat.

China says its ties with Russia are built on the basis of non-alliance and do not target any third party.