Li Hui (, born February 1953)
[ is a ]Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
who serves as the Chinese Special Representative for Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
n Affairs since August 2019. He previously served as the Chinese Ambassador to Russia (2009-2019) and Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
(1997-2000), and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs (2008-2009).
Diplomatic career
After graduation from the Beijing Foreign Studies University
Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU; ), is a public university in Beijing, China. BFSU boasts the oldest language programs in China offering the largest number of foreign language majors on different educational levels. Located in Haidia ...
in 1975, Li joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China () is the first-ranked executive department of the State Council of the Chinese government, responsible for the foreign relations of the People's Republic of China. It is led ...
. From 1975 to 1981, he worked in the USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and Europe Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from 1981 to 1985, he worked as an Attaché
In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accor ...
, Second Secretary
Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...
and Third Secretary at the Chinese Embassy in the USSR.[
After his return to China in 1985, he served as the Second Secretary, Deputy Head of the Department and First Secretary in the USSR and Europe
Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1991 to 1992, he as the first secretary of the Chinese Embassy in the USSR and following the ]dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
in 1991, became the first secretary of the Chinese Embassy in Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.[
In 1992, he was appointed as the First Secretary and adviser at the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan. From 1995 to 1997, he served as an advisor and Deputy Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1997, he was appointed as Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan and served this position till 1999.][
From 1999 to 2003, he served as the head of the Europe and Asia Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from 2003 to 2008, he served
assistant to the ]Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
.[
In 2008, he was appointed as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. On 13 August 2009, he was appointed as the Chinese Ambassador to Russia by the then ]11th National People's Congress
The 11th National People's Congress () met for a 5-year term, from 2008 to 2013. It held five annual two week plenary sessions during this period. It succeeded the 10th National People's Congress. There were 2,987 deputies elected to the 11t ...
, succeeding Liu Guchang. He presented his credentials to Russian President
The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
on 16 December 2009.[
On August 2019, he was appointed as the Chinese Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs. In a 2020 essay for the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, he wrote that China and Russia "will, as always, show firm support for each other’s efforts to uphold one’s own sovereignty, security, territorial integrity and other core interests."][
On 26 April 2023, he was appointed as Chinese special representative for the settlement of the ]Russo-Ukrainian War
The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...
and would visit Russia, Ukraine, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
to take part in the talks seeking to resolve the conflict. From 16 to 17 May 2023, Li visited Ukraine and during the visit, he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство закордонних справ України) is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the foreign relations of Ukraine. The head of the ministry is the ...
Dmytro Kuleba
Dmytro Ivanovych Kuleba ( uk, Дмитро Іванович Кулеба; born 19 April 1981) is a Ukrainian politician, diplomat, and communications specialist, currently serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is also concurrently a member ...
. The parties discussed the principles of restoring a stable and just peace based on respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, while Kuleba stated that Ukraine would not accept any proposals that would involve the loss of its territories or freezing of the conflict. Li also took part in the briefing of current security situation in Ukraine at the office of the President of Ukraine
The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
. European officials reportedly criticized China's peace plan as an attempt at "freezing" the conflict in place and splitting the West in pushing Ukraine cease-fire, and such view of China's attempt was disputed by Ukraine's Kuleba
Personal life
He is married and has one daughter.[
]
Awards and honors
:
* Order of Friendship
The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds a ...
, 2nd class (2021)
:
* Order of Friendship
The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds a ...
(2019)
*Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (2006)
*Honorary Doctorate and Honorary Member of the Academic Council of Moscow State Linguistic University
)
, former_names = Moscow Imperial Commercial School(1804–1917) Moscow Institute of New Languages(1930–1935) Maurice Thorez Moscow State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages(1935–1990)
, motto = ''Lingua facit pacem''
, motto_lang = ...
(2013)
*Honorary Doctorate of the (2018)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Hui
Ambassadors of China to Russia
1953 births
Living people
Beijing Foreign Studies University alumni
Chinese expatriates in the Soviet Union
Ambassadors of China to Kazakhstan
Chinese Communist Party politicians from Heilongjiang
People's Republic of China politicians from Heilongjiang