French President Emmanuel Macron visits China for talks on Ukraine, trade
The war in Ukraine will be front and center during French President Emmanuel Macron three-day state visit to China, as the European leader looks to harness Beijing’s influence with the Kremlin to accelerate peace efforts.
Macron intends to nudge China "towards a shared responsibility for peace" in Ukraine during the state visit. The French president is also push the country not to send lethal weapons to Russia and ask Chinese leader Xi Jinping to use his influence to dissuade Moscow from using nuclear arms.
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In a speech to French residents of China, Macron expressed hope on Wednesday that Beijing will “participate in initiatives that are useful to the Ukrainian people.” He'll discuss the war effort with Xi at a meeting on Thursday.
Macron's visit to China follows a meeting between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that ended without a resolution to the conflict. China has sought to position itself as a neutral peace broker in the war, even as it strengthens its alliance with Russia.
France has better relations with China than the U.S. and Macron conferred with President Joe Biden prior to his visit. The leaders spoke about their "common desire to engage China to accelerate the end of the war," according to a statement provided by the Elysee.
Macron and Biden both agree the war in Ukraine could end "today" if Putin withdrew his forces, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters.
"We have long said that we would welcome China condemning this invasion," Kirby added. "We would welcome China enforcing and implementing the international sanctions to hold Mr. Putin accountable, and to date we haven't seen that. But we still urge China, if they truly want to accelerate an end to the war, to join the rest of the international community in condemning what Mr. Putin is doing."
Despite Macron’s efforts, French officials don’t expect a major shift in Beijing’s position. Beijing has called for a cease-fire and came out against the use of nuclear weapons, without naming Russia, after the Kremlin announced plans to store tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. Xi has refused to criticize Putin's invasion of Ukraine, though, and visited Moscow days after an international court issued a warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes.
Russia's alleged attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and accusations that it is engaged in the forced deportation of children are likely to be topics of discussion during Macron's visit.
Trade is expected to be another major focus for the French leader, who invited European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to his meeting with Xi. The move is meant to show European unity on economic issues.
The joint meeting comes after von der Leyen warned the European Union last week to establish measures to protect trade and investments thChina could exploit for its own security and military purposes.
Contributing: The Associated Press