China's Special Representative on Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui, will attend the Ukraine peace talks in Jeddah. The meeting hopes to find a possible pathway to peace for Ukraine and Russia. Governments such as the U.K., South Africa, Poland, the U.S., and the EU have confirmed their participation.

The ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said that China had expressed its willingness to cooperate with the international community in playing a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine crisis.

China didn’t take part in the earlier Copenhagen peace talks earlier this year, but Saudi Arabia was chosen to host this round of talks with the aim of trying to persuade China to join. Western diplomats see China’s involvement as important because most participants in the past have said they regretted its absence.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who faced skepticism from some countries over the closeness with which China is with Russia and the silence on condemning Putin's actions, still maintains a willingness to dialogue with Beijing. Zelenskyy believes this gathering will be a step towards what he hopes will be a global peace summit in the fall.

Notably, Russia was not invited to the talks, but the Kremlin will monitor the meeting closely.