Hopes for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine before summer remain slim as fundamental disagreements on territory and military realities on the ground create a significant impasse, a Chinese scholar said on Sunday.
Zhang Hong, a research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed to the vast gulf between the two nations' core demands as the primary obstacle to a near-term resolution.
"Currently, it seems that there is a certain degree of difficulty in achieving a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire before this summer. Firstly, the disagreements between Russia and Ukraine on the issue of territory are quite immense. The Russian side insists that Ukraine must completely withdraw from the Donbas region, while Ukraine insists on discussing security guarantees, ceasefire monitoring mechanisms, and post-war reconstruction issues first in negotiations, and finally leaving the territorial and withdrawal issues to be decided by a Ukrainian national referendum. If the core territorial issue cannot be resolved, a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire is fundamentally impossible to achieve," said Zhang.
The second major factor is the military stalemate on the battlefield, Zhang said.
"Secondly, it is difficult to break the Russia-Ukraine military balance. Although Russia's comprehensive strength is stronger than Ukraine's, and the Russian military has been continuously on the offensive, we have seen that since the beginning of 2024, the speed of the Russian military's monthly advance has remained very slow. Therefore, this kind of balanced stalemate on the battlefield has also led to neither Russia nor Ukraine yielding at the negotiating table. It is indeed also very difficult [for Russia ] to try and force Ukraine to make huge concessions at the negotiating table for what cannot be obtained on the battlefield," he said.
Furthermore, international support for Ukraine, particularly from European nations, has bolstered Kyiv's negotiating position, said the scholar.
"It should be recognized that Europe supports some of Ukraine's territorial and security claims, and has provided financial and military aid to Ukraine. This has also given Ukraine a certain degree of confidence in the negotiations, enabling it to resist Russia's military pressure as well as diplomatic pressure from the United States. Therefore, the Russia-Ukraine peace talks remain a difficult problem, destined to be a slow and tortuous process," said Zhang.
The U.S.-brokered second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Thursday, with Russia and Ukraine agreeing to a large-scale prisoner exchange, but failing to achieve substantive breakthroughs on core issues such as territorial arrangements and a ceasefire.
Russia-Ukraine ceasefire unlikely before summer due to disagreements on major issues: Chinese scholar
South China's Guangdong Province is accelerating its transformation into an international medical tourism hub, positioning itself as a destination for patients worldwide seeking affordable, high-quality care.
The push follows a joint initiative announced in late March by nine Chinese government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, aimed at boosting spending by foreign tourists and enhancing exports of tourism services as part of broader efforts to expand the country's service sector.
Every day, some of the most complex surgeries are performed here. Li Zilun, deputy director of the division of vascular surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat‑sen University, is among the doctors capable of carrying out these intricate procedures.
He recently completed surgery on a patient with an aortic aneurysm, a condition often described as a "time bomb" in the body’s main artery, increasingly common in aging societies around the globe. Li also specializes in highly difficult and pioneering procedures, including repairing leaks caused by failed grafts.
"This was a very challenging case. And then, we implanted the covered stent to eliminate the endoleak. Actually, the outcome was pretty good. The patient will be discharged today," said Li Zilun.
The ability to handle such complex cases -- combining international techniques with domestically produced devices -- is drawing patients from around the world to seek treatment. In addition, high safety standards and low costs are also major draws.
"Our government is encouraging innovation. So, lots of physicians -- including our vascular surgeons -- we are actively involved in the innovation that helps to increase the effectiveness and safety, and also bring down the cost," said Li.
This hospital is one of the first in Guangdong to be designated by the provincial health commission as a pilot site for building an international medical service hub.
The growing number of patients has pushed the hospital to explore new ways to transform every step -- from treatment to payment and everything in between -- into a seamless experience, reducing waiting times and delivering better care for patients.
"I think it's fast. When the patient come here for just about, I think, one week, you can solve the problem," said Xiao Haipeng, president of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.
The hospital is also deepening its international cooperation with top-tier medical institutions, including those at Harvard University.
"Not just for China, for the whole globe, we are facing health care challenges -- emerging infectious disease and chronic, lung infectious diseases, and also the aging population, also the shortage of healthcare workforce," said Xiao.
In response to these challenges, China is promoting its own solutions, including aggressive innovation in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven workflows, while stepping up research and development investment and global engagement along the way.
"In recent years, the innovation in Western medicine is dramatically growing. An example of my hospital -- in the past few years, we have 140 innovations and seven of them are international leading innovations," said Xiao.
As global demand for medical tourism grows, China is positioning itself as a new destination. Official data shows that the number of foreign patients in Guangdong increased by 20 percent last year. Among them, the growth in inpatient admissions was even faster, rising by 76 percent.
Guangdong fast-tracks pilot for int'l medical service hub
