Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Russia's capital for a summit with his Russian counterpart in the coming months, according to people familiar with the plan, as Vladimir Putin wages war in Ukraine and presents himself as a standard-bearer against the U.S.-led world order, The Wall Street Journal reports in a recently published article.
China says it wants to play a more active role in ending the conflict, and people familiar with Xi's travel plans said a meeting with Putin would be part of a push for multiparty peace talks and allow China to reiterate its calls. that nuclear weapons not be used.
Western capitals have expressed skepticism about China's diplomatic initiative, the broad outlines of which were first presented last week by the country's top diplomat, Wang Yi, at the Munich Security Conference.
Arrangements for the visit are at an early stage and the timing has not been finalized, the people said. Xi could visit in April or early May, they said, when Russia celebrates its World War II victory over Germany, an event the Kremlin used last year to compare Ukraine's elected leaders to Nazis.