Emmanuel Macron failed to shake Xi Jinping’s position on the conflict in Ukraine, writes Politico. On the second day of the French president’s state visit, the Chinese president made the expected statements that “all parties” had “reasonable security concerns” and gave no indication that he would use his influence to end the conflict.
“China is ready to join France in calling on the international community to remain rational and calm,” the Chinese leader said at a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Xi Jinping added that peace talks should resume as soon as possible, referred to the UN Charter and noted the will to build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security structure.
The French president visited China on Wednesday hoping to persuade Xi Jinping to “influence Russia” to end the conflict and get Beijing to speak out against Russia’s deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus.
According to a French diplomat familiar with the negotiations, in a private meeting with Xi, Macron expressed the West’s fear that Beijing was supplying arms to the Russian Federation. But the French leader does not seem to have gone very far, the newspaper concludes.
“The president urged Xi not to provide Russia with supplies that would help in the war against Ukraine. Xi said this war is none of his business,” the diplomat said, anonymously describing a private conversation.
The interview, which the spokesperson for the Élysée Palace nevertheless described as “frank and constructive”, finally lasted an hour and a half.
Politico celebrates the different styles of the two leaders. The PRC chairman read his carefully prepared comments while staring straight ahead. The French leader then spoke about twice as long as his host. This is a protocol oversight, which was noticed by the representatives of the Chinese side.
At the same time, Xi Jinping appeared impatient and annoyed at times as Macron continued to speak. The Chinese leader took several deep breaths and looked embarrassed when Macron addressed him directly, seemingly improvising on the war in Ukraine and their shared responsibility for keeping the peace.
Macron called on China’s leader to openly condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine. However, Xi did not explicitly mention Russia in his speech. The Chinese leader said the PRC and France should “reconnect lawmakers and the military,” and that could irritate the United States.
“China and France must continue to…confront the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation by joining forces to solve all kinds of global problems,” Xi Jinping said.
Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen’s visit to Beijing began yesterday. European politicians came to China in the hope of persuading Xi Jinping to communicate directly with Kiev, as well as to prevent the rapprochement between Beijing and Moscow in the context of the NWO.
Politico’s post about Macron’s failed China mission
