Xi Jinping has told Volodymyr Zelensky that China has "always stood on the side of peace".
Xi Jinping has told Volodymyr Zelensky that China wants peace
The two leaders spoke on the phone for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine last year and Xi confirmed that his country plans to send a peace envoy to the war-torn nation to help facilitate talks.
The nearly one-hour discussion was met by Russian accusations that Ukraine is undermining efforts to end the conflict.
Xi has come under increasing pressure from Western nations to step in and mediate after refusing to condemn Russian aggression and he told Zelensky that "talks and negotiation" were the "only way out" of the war, according to the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
CCTV reported Xi as saying: "On the issue of the Ukraine crisis, China has always stood on the side of peace and its core position is to promote peace talks."
According to a readout of the call, the Chinese president said that his country "will neither watch the fire from the other side, nor add fuel to the fire, let alone take advantage of the crisis to profit".
Xi added: "When dealing with the nuclear issue, all parties concerned should remain calm and restrained, truly focus on the future and destiny of themselves and mankind, and jointly manage and control the crisis."
Zelensky wrote on Twitter: "I had a long and meaningful phone call with President Xi Jinping.
"I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine's ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations."