During a visit to Beijing on Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron of France once again pressed China’s leader, Xi Jinping, to do more to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
And once again, Xi — who has been lobbied on that subject by Western leaders since the war began — gave little indication that he was interested in complying.
Macron made his appeal during a three-day visit to China, his fourth trip to the country during his presidency. Xi welcomed him with a red carpet and an honour guard.
Both leaders entered the meeting eager to push for support on geopolitical goals. As the war in Ukraine nears the four-year mark and President Donald Trump tries to spearhead peace talks, European leaders are rushing to ensure that any settlement does not undermine Ukrainian sovereignty. They have long argued that China, with its close ties to Russia, could exert more pressure on Moscow to make concessions.
Just days before travelling to Beijing, Macron hosted Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Paris. During that meeting, Macron reiterated Europe’s commitment to Ukraine and stressed that only Kyiv could make decisions about whether to cede any
territory.
China, meanwhile, is pushing countries including France to take its side in a fiery diplomatic dispute with Japan. The conflict stems from remarks by Japan’s new Prime Minister that suggested Japan could deploy its military if China were to attack Taiwan.
But in remarks after a closed meeting, both Xi and Macron suggested that significant distance remained between their attitudes.
At a news conference after the meeting, Xi said of Russia’s war in Ukraine, “China will continue to play a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis, while resolutely opposing any irresponsible actions of shifting blame or smearing.”
Macron said that the two leaders had discussed Russia’s invasion “at length”. He said he hoped that Xi would join efforts to achieve, “at the very least”, a halt in attacks on critical infrastructure, including energy infrastructure for civilians. That was especially urgent as winter approached, he said.
He added, “I believe we both have the measure of the gravity of the situation.”
New York Times News Service
