The visit of the President of France and the head of the European Commission to China was initially seen as another opportunity to influence the head of the People’s Republic of China on the issue of ending the war in Ukraine. Emmaniel Macron both before his arrival and in Beijing emphasized, that Xi Jinping should influence Russian President Vladimir Putin to renounce violence. But what did Xi Jinping answer??
In the protocol sense, the position of the President of the People’s Republic of China is stated in the information of the “Xinhua” agency based on the results of the meeting. “The President of the People’s Republic of China said that the priority should be a cease-fire and an end to actions that only provoke the parties more or complicate the situation,” – it is said in the message of the agency. But what is meant by such actions? Can it be assumed that China considers such actions to be the very war it has waged Vladimir Putin? Is NATO expansion, Ukraine’s desire for Euro-Atlantic integration and the supply of weapons to Ukraine a provocation?
Observers emphasize that during negotiations with the French president Emmaniemailem Macronohm and the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen the head of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping did not react in any way to proposals to stop Russia, never mentioned it at all, never once said the word “war”.
Moreover, even Russia’s placement of nuclear weapons in Belarus – which allegedly directly contradicts China’s notion of nuclear non-proliferation – was not condemned by Xi Jinping either. In the People’s Republic of China, no one even tries to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Rthe Ossian propaganda narrative
On the day of Macron’s visit to China, the Chinese ambassador to the EU Tsu Fungwho tried to create the impression of “limitation” of Russian-Chinese cooperation among Europeans, clearly statedthat China does not condemn the Russian invasion because it understands the Russian explanation of the war as an attempt to defend itself from NATO, which is approaching the borders of the Russian Federation.
In China, no one even tries to condemn Russia
And this is an obvious Russian propaganda narrative. Not to mention the other one a demonstrative gesture by Beijing just before the arrival of Macron and von der Leyen. The first speech of the new Premier of the People’s Republic of China Li Qiang with the head of government of another state. And with whom? With the Prime Minister of Russia Mykhailo Mishustin. There is not a single word about the war in the official reports.
What did the president of the People’s Republic of China need?
So what did Xi Jinping need from Emmanuel Macron, if he agreed to listen to proposals that did not really interest him? The answer suggests itself if you listen to what the President of the People’s Republic of China said during the negotiations with the French President and the Chairman of the European Commission, Xi Jinping, who demonstrated that he treats the European Union and France as independent partners. But the United States only interferes with the relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Europeans.
In Beijing, they are convinced that the Europeans are interested in economic ties with China and will not criticize the Chinese leadership too much for supporting Russia. And Macron largely justified their conclusions when he came to China with a representative delegation of French businessmen.
Like Putin once, Xi Jinping is convinced that it is possible to seriously talk about the future only with the United States, and to build relations of economic dependence with the Europeans. And this is a dangerous illusion not only for China itself, but also for Ukrainians together with Europe.
