European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell called for the “responsibility” of the People’s Republic of China to make it clear to Russia that a political solution to the war in Ukraine is needed.
“It will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the European Union to maintain a relationship of trust with China if it is not helped to find a political solution in view of Russia’s withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.”stated Borrell.
The People’s Republic of China “must take its responsibility and help Russia understand it,” Josep Borrell said in a text he published on his personal blog this Friday, the same day he planned to speak in Beijing.
Borrell’s presence at the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing was canceled after the top European Union official conducted a covid-19 test that showed he was infected with the disease.
“Russia has seriously damaged the international order.” with a war that he thought was “lightning” and “failed” to therefore involve the People’s Republic of China, Borrell says in the same text of the speech he planned to give in Beijing this Friday.
China “has important responsibilities,” adds Borrell, “because it belongs to the UN Security Council.”
Faced with the violation of “international law”, neutrality is “not credible”, Borrell insists in the same address to the Beijing authorities.
“Neutrality towards the violation of international law is not credible. We are not asking anyone to align with our own views. We are simply asking them to admit and acknowledge that there has been a serious violation in this case of international law. So I think it would be helpful for President Xi (Jinping) to speak with President (Ukrainian, Volodymir) Zelensky.”suggests.
For Borrel, the People’s Republic of China can play a mediating role in the conflict, as recently happened “in the Middle East by facilitating the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran”.
“Europe stands up for Ukraine and prepares to welcome it into the European family one day. But today Europe’s security is also at stake in Ukraine. That is why we will continue to support Ukraine in every possible way.” imaginable: military, financial, political, diplomatic and humanitarian”says Borrell in the speech.
“The European Union’s support for Ukraine is by no means an expression of loyalty or submission to another great power, as I hear it said, but rather an expression of our own will. Please understand this. We must fight for our own destiny”says Borrell referring to the criticism of the European bloc that says it is commanded by the United States.
The High Representative planned to embark on a trip to the People’s Republic of China on Thursday that would last until Saturday.
Borrell had scheduled meetings with the Minister of National Security of the People’s Republic of China, Li Shangfu, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Borrell’s trip to Beijing was planned after visits from French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, who also asked the Chinese head of state to intervene with Russia and establish contacts with the Ukrainian president. as well as the contacts he maintains with Russia’s head of state, Vladimir Putin.
“No other country has more influence in Russia than China”
Germany’s foreign minister also this Friday urged China to “ask the Russian aggressor to stop the war in Ukraine” and warned that a military escalation in the Taiwan Strait would be a “catastrophe scenario” worldwide.
“I must say openly that I wonder why the Chinese position so far does not include a request to the Russian aggressor to stop the war.” said Annalena Baerbock in Beijing, at a press conference alongside her Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang.
This was emphasized by the head of German diplomacy “No other country has more influence in Russia than China”.
Qin Gang said that “the crisis in Ukraine has developed to this day” and that “the lessons are profound, worthy of deep reflection by all sides.” “The territory is indivisible and security is also indivisible,” he said. “Without recognition of the security interests of any party, crises and conflicts are inevitable,” he added.
Following the meeting, China announced that its defense minister Li Shangfu will land in Russia on Sunday for a four-day visit, at the invitation of its counterpart Sergei Shoigu.
Annalena Baerbock further stated that “A military escalation in the Taiwan Strait, through which 50% of world trade passes daily, would be a catastrophic scenario for the entire world”.
Beijing regards Taiwan as one of its provinces and sees Taiwan’s international contacts as initiatives for the formal independence of the island, whose sovereignty has been claimed since the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War that ended in 1949.
The Nationalist forces, led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975), refugees on the island, established the Republic of China in Formosa, causing tensions that have lasted since the end of the civil war, as Beijing plans to even control the area. reunite if it’s “I have to use force.”
The minister also denounced the curtailment of human rights in China.
“I explained to my counterpart in our bilateral talks that we are concerned that the reach of civil society in China continues to shrink and that human rights are curtailed”he told reporters in Beijing, referring to the plight of Xinjiang’s Uyghur community.
Source: DN
