French President Emmanuel Macron told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday that he was counting on him to “bring Russia back to reason” on the issue of the war in Ukraine.
“I know I can count on you to bring Russia back to its senses and bring all sides to the negotiating table,” Macron told Xi at a meeting at the Grand Palace of the People, next to Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Chinese President Xi Jinping praised ties with France, in a world undergoing “profound historical changes”, during a meeting with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, who is on a three-day visit to China. ..
“The world is undergoing profound historical changes,” Xi said, noting that relations between Paris and Beijing have been on a “steady positive development.”
During this three-day visit to China, Macron wants to discuss bilateral economic relations and the war in Ukraine.
Following the meeting between Macron and Xi Jinping, there will be a trilateral meeting in the presence of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is also on an official visit to China.
European leaders hope to convince Xi Jinping, a close ally of Moscow, to use his influence with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Received in Beijing this morning by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Macron underlined the “importance” of “dialogue between China and France in these difficult times we are going through”.
Macron wants to be “a voice that unites Europe”
He then met with the President of the National People’s Congress of China, Zhao Leji, to whom he “underlined the implications of the war in Ukraine for security and global strategic balances”.
Received by Li Qiang, Von der Leyen stressed that “relations between the EU and China have become complex in recent years and it is important to address all aspects of this relationship together”, especially in an “unstable geopolitical environment”. environment”.
Europe is pressuring China to play a role in pushing for peace in Ukraine. The visits from European leaders come just weeks after Xi met Putin in Moscow.
“If there is only one country that Moscow can make changes to its calculations, it is China,” an official from Macron’s office admitted on Monday, quoted by Britain’s Financial Times newspaper.
Xi and Putin previously declared a “borderless friendship” between their countries on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Beijing refused to criticize Moscow, but tried to maintain an image of neutrality and called for a ceasefire and peace talks, but has not even spoken on the phone to his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodomyr Zelensky, since the conflict began.
Beijing wants to keep Putin’s government as a viable diplomatic partner to counter the US-led liberal democratic order and a reliable energy supplier.
Macron said his ambition is to be “a voice that unites Europe”, which is why he invited the President of the European Commission to join him.
On the first day of his three-day state visit, the French president said on Wednesday that Beijing can play an “important role” in “finding a path to peace” in Ukraine, citing the 12-point document on China’s position in Ukraine. the conflict, released last February.
Ursula von der Leyen, for her part, issued a much stricter warning in Brussels last week. “How China continues to respond to Putin’s war will be a determining factor in future EU-China relations,” he said.
Source: DN
