President Xi Jinping said China will send a special representative to Ukraine to help resolve the crisis there in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.

According to Xinhua News Agency, a special Chinese representative on Eurasian affairs will visit Ukraine and other countries "to conduct in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis".

President Xi also told Zelensky that dialogue and negotiations are the "only viable way out" of the crisis.

Xi said China always stands on the side of peace in the Ukraine conflict, and China's core position is to promote peace via talks.

Zelensky, for his part, described the phone call – the first between the two leaders since Russia began its military campaign more than a year ago – as "long and meaningful".

"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," he said on Twitter.

Pavel Ryabikin, who previously headed the ministry of strategic industries of Ukraine, was named Kyiv's new envoy to China, according to a decree on the presidency's website. Ukraine has not had an ambassador to China since February 2021.

Beijing has said it wants to act as peace mediator in the Ukraine crisis and unveiled a 12-point proposal in February calling for a political settlement to the conflict. (Agencies)