Zelenskyy stressed that China wields significant influence over Russia through its economic ties, but said Ukraine has not seen any indication that Beijing is prepared to pressure Vladimir Putin to end the war.
"Of course, we would welcome their help. But we do not feel it. We do not sense that mood from them. We do not feel that they are ready to pressure Putin — in other words, to do everything necessary to end this war," the Ukrainian president said.
Zelenskyy said ending the war would require uniting all those interested in peace and involving them in efforts to achieve it.
"Perhaps something will change. Of course, I remain very open to meeting with President Xi. Our teams can work on that — precisely to do everything possible to stop this war," he said.
Earlier, Reuters reported that Chinese military personnel may have secretly trained about 200 Russian soldiers in China late last year, after which some of them returned to take part in the war against Ukraine.
China's Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on the latest statements by the European Union. Beijing has previously denied reports of training Russian troops, describing such claims as "an attempt to shift responsibility for the war onto China."
On June 2, the South China Morning Post reported that U.S. President Donald Trump, during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, urged him to use his influence over Russia to help revive negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv and contribute to ending the war in Ukraine.