European leaders urge China to use its influence to end Russia’s war in Ukraine / Article

Chinese President Xi Jinping was warmly welcomed today at the Elysée Palace, where he sat down at the negotiating table with French President Emmanuel Macron and EC President Ursula von der Leyen.

Ahead of the closed-door trilateral meeting, Macron said Europe and China needed to work together to deal with global crises, including Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine. The French president also stressed that both sides must follow fair rules in Europe-China trade.

“The future of our continent will clearly also depend on our ability to continue to build a balanced relationship with China, which is what we want,” Macron said.

Xi Jinping, on the other hand, stated at the beginning of the meeting that China always views relations with Europe from a strategic and long-term perspective, and stated that this region is a priority of its foreign policy.

“As two important world powers, China and the European Union should continue to view each other as partners, continue dialogue and cooperation, deepen strategic communication, strengthen strategic mutual trust. They should build strategic consensus, implement strategic coordination, and work towards a stable China-EU relationship growth and continue to make new contributions to promoting world peace and development,” Xi Jinping said.

Relations between the European Union (EU) and China have been strained in recent years as the bloc accuses China of unfair trade practices and seeks to reduce its dependence on Chinese products. The EU is also concerned about the strengthening of China’s economic ties with Russia and the possible use of Chinese-made dual-use goods in Russian military equipment.

After the leaders’ meeting, EC leader Leyen said that the EU hopes for more active involvement of China in ending the war in Ukraine. She also warned that the bloc is ready to protect its manufacturers against the influx of Chinese subsidized goods such as steel and electric cars into the single market.

“We agree that Europe and China have common interests in peace and security. We hope that China will use all its influence on Russia so that Russia ends the war in Ukraine.

We also discussed our economic and trade relations, which are among the most important in the world. For trade to be fair, access to the other party’s market must also be adequate. And we discussed how to make real progress on market access. I remain convinced that more progress is possible. At the same time, we are ready to make full use of our trade defense tools if necessary.”

Xi Jinping will continue his visit to France tomorrow. On Tuesday, the French and Chinese presidents will travel to the Pyrenees for more informal talks.

Xi arrived in Paris on Sunday for the start of a six-day visit to Europe, his first since 2019, which also includes talks in Serbia and Hungary. Xi has said he wants peace in Ukraine, although analysts do not expect any major changes in Chinese policy.

Human rights activists have called on Macron to pay attention to restrictions on freedoms in China and the repression of the Muslim Uyghur minority in his talks with Xi Jinping.