Paris, 21 April 2023 (GNP): Following the phone conversation between Macron and Biden, the French Presidency reported on Thursday that both French and USA Presidents have “agreed on the importance of continuing to engage China” in deliberate attempts to end the Ukraine war.
Macron visited Beijing in the first week of this month and held lengthy negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to his office, Macron and Biden discussed “the results obtained” during those negotiations.
The French statement said: “China has a role to play in contributing, in the medium term, in ending the conflict in accordance with the principles and aims of the United Nations charter”.
“The two heads of state agreed on the importance of continuing to engage Chinese authorities on this basis”, it added.
Macron also highlighted the significance of European nations continuing to re-arm to fulfill their obligations to bear a portion of the weight of transatlantic security.
The statement continued, making reference to Taiwan, “The two presidents share the same desire to reinforce cooperation underway and to support international law, including the freedom of navigation, in the whole of the Indo-Pacific region”.
After his visit to China, Macron said that in the case of a war between the US and China over Taiwan, Europe shouldn’t be a “follower” of the US.
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Macron flew to Beijing determined to work with Xi, the ally of Vladimir Putin in Russia, to achieve a truce in the Ukraine war.
According to an aide to the French president who made the statement afterward, Xi indicated readiness to collaborate with Paris on “creating the conditions for negotiations” between Moscow and Kyiv.
The notion of a joint venture will be looked at during talks between Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, and Emmanuel Bonne, Macron’s main diplomatic assistant, before the summer, the aide added.
She claimed, “The president said that any such negotiation had to take place with full respect of international law and Ukrainian sovereignty”.
Given its status as a permanent member of the (UN) Security Council, the aide continued, “He (Macron) encouraged China to play a constructive role”.
