European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron have put pressure on China to use its influence on Russia to end the Ukraine war. “We are counting on China,” said von der Leyen after a three-way meeting with head of state and party leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday. “We expect China to play its part and support a just peace.” In a direct conversation, Macron appealed to Xi Jinping to bring Russia to “reason”.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has “great responsibility,” von der Leyen told journalists. It could use its influence in a friendship that has grown over decades. The President of the Commission warned China against arms deliveries to Russia. “Arming the aggressor would be against international law and it would severely damage our relations.” She is counting on China not providing any military equipment “directly or indirectly”.
China’s president has little new to say
Von der Leyen and Macron have been in Beijing since Wednesday. The German politician was invited by the French President to join his talks with Xi Jinping for a round of her own. Beijing and Moscow maintain close ties even after more than a year of Russian war of aggression against Ukraine – despite all the hopes of the West.
In his bilateral talks with Xi Jinping, Macron was confident: “I know that I can count on you (…) to bring Russia to reason and everyone around the negotiating table,” the Élysée Palace quoted him as saying. In front of the press, however, Xi Jinping disappointed and only repeated known positions. He called for peace and negotiations, but did not say what China would do about it. We must exercise restraint and avoid anything that could make the situation worse or spiral out of control.
Attacks on civilians or civilian facilities should be avoided, Xi Jinping reiterated. He did not hear any criticism of Russia. He generally recalled pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. The use of biological and chemical weapons and attacks on civilian nuclear facilities such as nuclear power plants would also have to be rejected.
Xi points to Russian interests
Xi Jinping thus repeated a position paper presented in February that had met with international disappointment and skepticism. The “legitimate security interests of all parties” should be taken into account, said Xi Jinping, with Beijing supporting Russia’s arguments. He also called for the development of a “balanced European security framework”, which is commonly understood as criticism of the USA and the expansion of NATO.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, China’s president has backed his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin to make a joint front against the United States. Xi Jinping was in Moscow just two weeks ago. Since the beginning of the war, however, there has not been a single telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. China’s ambassador in Brussels, Fu Cong, told the New York Times that Xi Jinping was “very busy”.
The war is one of many problems with China
Macron complained that Russian aggression had dealt a blow to world stability. A lasting peace must be achieved. It is about entering into a serious discussion with everyone in the near future. “We don’t just want the end of the conflict, we want respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, which is a condition for a lasting peace.”
Not only China’s support for Putin, but also other problems have brought China’s relations with Europe to a low point: imbalances in trade relations, human rights violations, China’s territorial claims and threats against democratic Taiwan. Against the background of bad experiences with dependence on Russia, concerns about the dangers of economic cooperation with the second largest economy are also growing.
Macron also pursues economic goals
There are also differences between Macron and von der Leyen in dealing with China. The President of the Commission is more critical. From their point of view, China has changed under Xi Jinping and is becoming more repressive and aggressive. Despite all the concerns, the expansion of economic cooperation was an important topic of Macron’s visit. He is accompanied by a 60-strong, top-class French business delegation.
The aircraft manufacturer Airbus announced that it would expand the production of its sought-after medium-haul jets with a further final assembly line in China. On the fringes of the visit, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury signed a contract to expand the Airbus plant in Tianjin with a second final assembly line. The group is thus doubling its production capacity in the country. Macron will travel to the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou on Friday. There Xi Jinping meets him again – as a special gesture – and gives him a meal.
Video of Macron’s statements to journalists, English translation Von der Leyen on Facebook
