China’s President Xi Jinping spoke to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron about the war in Ukraine.
(Photo: dpa)
Beijing, Paris In conversation with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and French President Emmanuel Macron, China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping again expressed reservations about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to a summary by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, released shortly after the three leaders met, Xi said the “current situation in Ukraine” was worrying. In addition, China was “deeply saddened by the renewed outbreak of war on the European continent”.
Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit announced that the three heads of state and government spoke out in favor of humanitarian relief and access to the contested areas. Functioning humanitarian corridors must be created.
All three countries stand ready to provide further humanitarian aid. In order to coordinate further efforts to end the conflict, the foreign ministers of Germany, France and China should work closely together, Hebestreit explained.
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After the video link, the Elysée Palace announced that Macron and Scholz had addressed Xi the “dramatic consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine”, in particular the increasing number of civilian casualties and refugees.
Xi expressed his support for Germany and France’s ceasefire efforts. It is necessary for the population to have access to humanitarian aid coordinated by the UN.
Otherwise, however, the Chinese government apparently avoided describing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as such, thereby naming Moscow as the aggressor in the conflict.
Beijing previously backed Russia
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi only backed Russia at a press conference on the sidelines of the People’s Congress currently being held in Beijing on Monday. The “common commitment to everlasting friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation” is extremely relevant and important, Wang said. Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, China has repeatedly expressed understanding for Moscow’s alleged security concerns.
In the past few days, a debate has arisen as to whether China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping could exert more force on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell even brought China into play as a mediator.
But apparently these hopes were again disappointed in the three-way talk on Tuesday. Xi stressed that “we must jointly support the Russia-Ukraine peace talks and encourage both sides to maintain the momentum of negotiations, overcome difficulties, continue talks and achieve peaceful results,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said . Beijing had already expressed itself in this way in the days before.
China once again criticized the sanctions imposed by the US and the EU. “We must work together to reduce the negative impact of the crisis,” Xi said. Relevant sanctions would affect global finance, energy, transportation and the stability of supply chains. This would also dampen the global economy “which is already weakened by the pandemic”. That, according to Xi, is in nobody’s interest.
>>Read more: All news about the Ukraine war can be found in our live blog
So far, only the Chinese side has published a summary of the talks, the reports from the German and French sides are still pending. In the past, the Chinese version had contained inaccuracies or errors.
China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) also took part in the talks on the Chinese side.
More: My life in Kyiv – A diary of Tatiana Chontoroh