China’s head of diplomacy, Wang Yi, defended this Friday that China and Europe must reach a “strategic consensus” to promote a ceasefire and a political solution to the war in Ukraine.
Speaking on the phone to Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, Wang added that the “resumption of peace talks and the political resolution of the ‘crisis'” should be part of that “consensus,” according to a statement from Chinese diplomacy.
The Chinese diplomat also referred to China’s President Xi Jinping’s recent trip to Moscow where he met his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. “It was an important visit between two great neighboring countries and a journey not only of cooperation but also of peace,” said Wang, who is director of the Bureau of the Committee of External Relations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Putin and Xi “achieved a range of consensus on expanding bilateral cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to adhere to multilateralism,” Wang said. The official stated that the two leaders want to “promote greater democracy in international relations”.
Wang reiterated that Beijing “continues to defend its basic position of advancing peace talks” in Ukraine.
According to the statement, Bonne expressed “appreciation for China’s positive role in advancing peace negotiations” and assured that France is “ready to make joint efforts with China to promote a ceasefire and a peaceful find a solution”.
China sees its partnership with Russia as fundamental to opposing the liberal democratic order, at a time when its relationship with the United States is also going through a period of great tension, characterized by disputes over trade and technology or disputes over rights issues. the status of Hong Kong or Taiwan, and the sovereignty of the South and East China Seas.
In a peace plan proposed at the end of February, Beijing stressed the importance of “respecting the sovereignty of all countries”, referring to Ukraine, but also called for an end to the “Cold War mentality”, implicitly criticizing the NATO expansion. China also called for an end to Western sanctions against Russia.
The West criticized Beijing’s proposal to put “aggressor and aggressor” on the same footing.
China was among the countries that abstained from voting on a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of the UN assembly.
Source: DN
