France is putting pressure on China over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and trade issues ahead of Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Paris, the Associated Press reports.
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejournay, in talks with colleagues in Beijing, supported the position of European leaders, including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who visited Beijing last week.
Sejourne said that France expects from China that, as a great power, it will send clear signals to Russia regarding Ukraine. However, Beijing takes a different position towards Ukraine than Europe and the US – China may be listening to Russia, but it is not clear what message it is conveying, say journalists.
According to Sejournay, France plans to maintain a close dialogue with China to help find ways to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine.
The situation is also affected by the influx of Chinese electric vehicles into Europe, which is becoming a serious problem between China and the European Union. “Rebalancing the economic partnership is a priority for us, as well as for our European partners. The European Union is a very open market, the most open in the world. But the current deficit with some countries, including China, is unacceptable to us,” Sejournay said at a press conference.
European officials have expressed concern that an influx of cheap electric vehicles made in China could disrupt production and lead to job losses in Europe.
