Emmanuel Macron to Xi Jinping: “I know that I can count on China to convince Russia of reasonableness”

French President Emmanuel Macronvisiting Beijing, said to his Chinese counterpart on Thursday. Xi Jinping that he “counts” on him “to reason with Russia” about Ukrainian conflict.

“I know I can count on you to bring Russia reason and put the whole world at the negotiating table,” the French president said during a bilateral meeting with Xi.

The President of the People’s Republic of China highly appreciated the ties with France in a world undergoing a “profound historical transformation”.

Following the meeting, the leaders of the two countries are scheduled to issue press statements at 3:30 pm local time (09:30 GMT).

They will then hold a trilateral meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

During his three-day visit to the Asian giant, Macron began a series of interviews with Prime Minister Li Qiang in Beijing.

“We need an opportunity to share a common analysis and build a common path,” Macron said, noting the “importance” of “the dialogue between China and France” in “these difficult times.”

Von der Leyen, also received by Li Qiang, stressed that “the relationship between the EU and China has become complicated in recent years, and today it is important to talk about all aspects of this relationship”, especially in the “unstable geopolitical environment”.

International pressure has increased in recent weeks China, a strategic ally of Russia, is participating in the conflict resolution. Although Beijing officially declares its neutrality, it has not condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Xi Jinping has not spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Instead, Xi personally traveled to Moscow in March to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, to whom he presented a 12-point political decision document released by Beijing in February.

“Good Cop, Bad Cop”

On the first day of his visit, the French president on Wednesday assessed that Beijing could play a “great role” in finding a “path to peace” in Ukraine and referred to a document released by China.

For his part, von der Leyen was more blunt in Brussels last week, warning that China’s stance on the war would be a “determining factor” in future relations with the EU.

“He laid out a rather firm and tough point of view on Beijing, which is nothing like Emmanuel Macron’s,” Marc Julien of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) told AFP.

“Let’s see how the roles will be distributed,” he adds.

But “playing good cop and bad cop between Macron and von der Leyen in Beijing would instantly undermine the European concept of a united front,” warns Antoine Bonda of the Strategic Research Foundation in his analysis.

The visit coincides with a new period of tension over Taiwan following a meeting in California between President Tsai Ing-wen and Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy.

On Thursday, Beijing pledged “firm measures” ahead of the meeting, and the self-governing island reported three warships and a Chinese anti-submarine helicopter sighting in its vicinity.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and is ready to regain control, even by force. Its authorities reject any contacts of the island authorities with other countries.

(AFP)