War in Ukraine: Macron ‘counts’ on Xi to ‘bring Russia to its senses’

Emmanuel Macron, during a state visit to Beijing, told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday that he was counting on him to “bring Russia to its senses” regarding Ukraine. “I know that I can count on you to reason with Russia and sit down at the negotiating table,” the French head of state told his Chinese counterpart during an official bilateral meeting.

It was one of the moments that Emmanuel Macron attached great importance: Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was ready to call his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky when the time was right, a French diplomat who attended the meetings said.

The French head of state also “pressured Xi Jinping not to supply Russia with anything that could be used in its war against Ukraine,” the diplomatic source added, at a time when Western countries fear China would supply weapons to Moscow.

“Unstable geopolitical environment”

For his part, the Chinese president welcomed ties with France in a world undergoing “profound historical change.” The two leaders will then make press statements. This will be followed by a trilateral meeting in the presence of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, also in Beijing.

The goal of the two European leaders? Make sure their voices are heard along with Xi Jinping, a close ally of Moscow whom they do not despair of seeing him play a role in bringing peace to Ukraine.

Received in the morning by Prime Minister Li Qiang, Emmanuel Macron “discussed the conflict in Ukraine”, according to the French president. “In these troubled times that we are going through,” he stressed the “importance” of “dialogue between China and France.”

He then spoke to National Assembly Chairman Zhao Leji, with whom he “emphasized the impact of the war in Ukraine on security and global strategic balances.”

For her part, Ms. von der Leyen, received by Li Qiang, stressed that “the relationship between the EU and China has become complicated in recent years, and it is important that we discuss all aspects of this relationship together today.” geopolitical environment”.

Pressure

In recent weeks, international pressure has increased on China to intervene in the cause of peace in Ukraine. Because if Beijing declares its official neutrality, Xi Jinping has never condemned the Russian invasion. Conversely, he recently traveled to Moscow to reaffirm his alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin under the guise of an anti-Western front.

In this context, Emmanuel Macron has the ambition to “become a voice that unites Europe”, which is why he invited the President of the European Commission to accompany him, as he recalled in his speech on Wednesday.

On the first day of his three-day state visit, the French president said Wednesday that Beijing could play an “important role” in “finding the path of peace” in Ukraine, citing a 12-point Chinese position paper released in February.

Ursula von der Leyen, for her part, issued a much stronger warning in Brussels last week: “How China continues to respond to Putin’s war will be a determining factor in future EU-China relations.”