Beijing: French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday appealed to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who last month warmly welcomed Vladimir Putin in Moscow, to help ‘bring Russia to its senses’ and build ‘lasting peace’ in Ukraine. For. Macron pointed to Chinese support for the UN Charter, which calls for the country’s territorial integrity and respect for nuclear agreements. He said the Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine threatened peace and stability based on them.
Xi’s government declared it had ‘friendship without limits’ with Russia ahead of the February 2022 attack, but has tried to appear neutral. Beijing has called for peace talks. Macron told Xi, “I know I can count on you, the two principles I just mentioned, to bring Russia to its senses and bring everyone back to the negotiating table.” Macron said the world needed to find lasting peace. “I believe this is as important an issue for China as it is for France and Europe,” he said.
Xi did not mention Ukraine or Russia but said he welcomed ties with France. He said Beijing and Paris are the “staunch promoters of the world’s multipolarisation”, a reference to undermining US dominance in economic and political affairs. Xi’s government sees Russia as a source of energy and what he says is unfair criticism of US aggression and his human rights record.
China is the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas, helping to boost the Kremlin’s revenue in the face of Western sanctions. This increases Chinese influence, but Xi appears reluctant to jeopardize that partnership by pressuring Putin. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said, “China has always adhered to an objective and fair position on the issue of the Ukraine crisis.” “We have been advocates of a political solution to the crisis and promoters of peace talks,” he said.
Earlier, Macron said during a meeting with Premier Li Keqiang, the No. 2 leader of the ruling Communist Party, that France “wants to forge a common path?” In dealing with all the major conflicts? Except Ukraine. Lee said there was likely to be a broad consensus? between Macron and Xi but gave no indication whether Beijing might be willing to lobby Moscow to broker peace.
“The meeting will give a positive signal to the concerted efforts of China, France and Europe to maintain world peace and stability,” Li said. Macron traveled to Beijing with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a show of European unity. Last week, von der Leyen warned that the EU must be prepared to develop measures to protect trade and investment that China could exploit for security and military purposes.
Meanwhile, 31 NATO member states warned on Wednesday that China would face “serious consequences” if it started sending arms and ammunition to Russia. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said giving lethal aid would be a ‘historic blunder’. He warned it would have “serious consequences” but declined to give details.
Chinese spokesman Mao rejected the criticism of NATO. Mao said, “When it comes to responsibility in Ukraine, I think military blocs such as the United States and NATO should take responsibility.”