Paris, 27 February 2023 (GNP): Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, announced on Saturday that he would travel to China in April and pushed Beijing to exert pressure on Moscow to halt the conflict in Ukraine.
Although it has kept tight connections with Russia and helped prevent a collective statement denouncing the war at a G20 summit in India, China has attempted to portray itself as something of a neutral observer in the fight.
On Friday, it released a 12-point policy document calling for immediate peace negotiations and a “political settlement” to put an end to the war. On Friday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, showed a desire to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and referred to it as “essential for international security.”
Macron announced on Saturday that he would travel to China in “early April” and encouraged Beijing to work alongside him to “put stress” on Moscow to stop the conflict. On the policy document, Macron remarked on the margins of a Paris agricultural exhibition, “The fact that China is involved in peace negotiations is a positive thing.”
To achieve peace, he continued that Russian aggressiveness must end, forces must depart, and the national integrity of Ukraine, as well as its people, as well as its people, must be honored.
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Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, will conduct an official visit to China from February 28 to March 2 at Xi’s invitation, the Chinese foreign office had previously on Saturday announced.
Vladimir Putin’s long-term supporter Lukashenko permitted his nation to serve as the base for Moscow’s invasion of its pro-Western partner on February 24 of last year. Since the countries announced the formation of a unified territorial military in October, Kyiv has raised fears that Belarus might again aid Moscow in its military effort.
During a phone call with Minsk on Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang informed his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Aleinik that Beijing was eager to cooperate with Minsk to increase mutual political confidence.
Additionally, China will continue to assist Belarus in preserving its national defense and reject any efforts made by “foreign forces” to meddle in its domestic matters or impose “unlawful” unilateral sanctions on Minsk. Qin stated Aleinik.
Revealed Diplomatic Turmoil
On Saturday, the G20 finance ministers could not agree on a unified declaration on the status of the world economy after China tried to downplay references to the conflict in Ukraine. This failure exposed the diplomatic gulf between Beijing and Moscow and the West. Russia claimed that by attempting to impose their “diktat,” the United States, the European Union, and the G7 “destabilized” the discussion in India.
The Chinese policy document to “help Russia and Ukraine in cooperating and restarting meaningful confrontation as soon as possible asked all parties.”
Following Putin’s warning of using Moscow’s nuclear arsenal in the battle, it also clearly stated that it was opposed to the deployment of nuclear weapons and the threats to do so.
With Beijing’s strong ties to Moscow, some of Ukraine’s friends have raised doubts about China’s dedication to peacemaking. China has rejected that it was “considered sending fatal help” to Russia, as claimed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Macron urged Beijing to “put pressure on Russia to guarantee it just never deploys chemical or nuclear weaponry and that it ceases this violence before to dialogue,” and encouraged China “not to sell any weaponry to Moscow.”
Zelensky raised hopes that China will back a “fair peace” in Ukraine and that Beijing will refrain from arming Russia, but he did not make any specifics regarding the timing or location of meetings with Xi Jinping.
