BEIJING, China (AFP) — Ukraine’s foreign minister was in China Tuesday for talks on how officials there might help end the war with Russia, whose ties with Beijing have grown stronger since the conflict began.

China presents itself as a neutral party in the war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

However, its deepening “no limits” partnership with Russia has led North Atlantic Treaty Organization members to brand it a “decisive enabler” of Moscow’s war, which Beijing has never condemned.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba’s visit until Friday is his first since the war began in February 2022.

Kyiv said Kuleba’s visit would focus on “ways to stop Russian aggression” as well as “China’s possible role in achieving a sustainable and just peace.”

Beijing said Tuesday the talks would focus on “advancing China-Ukraine cooperation and other issues of common interest.”

“On the Ukraine crisis, China always believes that an early ceasefire and a political settlement serves the common interests of all parties,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

“China will continue to stand on the side of peace and dialogue,” she said.

China has sought to paint itself as a mediator in the war, sending envoy Li Hui to Europe on multiple rounds of “shuttle diplomacy.”

President Xi Jinping told Hungary’s Viktor Orban this month that world powers should help Russia and Ukraine restart direct negotiations. Orban’s visit to Beijing was branded as a “peace mission.”

China also released a paper last year calling for a “political settlement” to the conflict. However, it was criticized by Western countries for enabling Russia to retain much of the territory it has seized in Ukraine.

Beijing has rebuffed claims it is supporting Russia’s war effort, insisting last week that its position was “open and above board” and accusing the West of fueling the conflict through arms shipments to Kyiv.

Beijing, a close political and economic ally of Russia, did not attend a peace summit in Switzerland last month in protest against Moscow not being invited.

Meanwhile, a Japanese national died last month fighting for Russia against Ukraine, Tokyo said Tuesday.

Government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi gave no details on the man’s identity, saying only that he was in his 20s.

National broadcaster NHK identified the man as a 29-year-old former soldier who left Japan in November and was killed in a blast in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk.

Hayashi said Russian authorities informed the Japanese embassy in Russia on 5 June and that diplomats confirmed the death on 15 July.

He told a regular briefing that the government was not aware of other deaths of Japanese nationals fighting for Russia.