Friday March 31, 2023
Sánchez meets Xi in Beijing China criticizes “extreme pressure” on Russia – not the war
Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez (left) has, in his own words, “encouraged Chinese President Xi to enter into a dialogue with President Zelenskyy.”
(Foto: picture alliance / Xinhua News Agency)
Spain’s Prime Minister Sánchez is traveling to Beijing to explore the chances of China mediating in the Ukraine war. However, the balance of the visit is rather sobering. Instead of condemning the Russian attack, President Xi criticized the West for the “extreme sanctions” once morest his “strategic partner”.
China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping is calling for a political solution to the Ukraine conflict, but is not moving away from his alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At a meeting with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Beijing, Xi Jinping reiterated his criticism of the West: the “Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation” must be abandoned, the president said, according to state media. Xi Jinping also backed his “strategic partner” Russia if “extreme sanctions and pressure” were to be ended. He spoke out in favor of creating a balanced security architecture in Europe, which observers generally see as criticism of the expansion of NATO.
Similar to the recently published Chinese position paper on Ukraine, there was no further criticism of the Russian war of aggression. Sánchez actually wanted to explore the chances of mediation by China. Spain will take over the EU Council Presidency as of July.
Xi has not yet spoken to Zelenskyy
Xi Jinping visited Moscow just last week and thus further strengthened Putin’s back. So far, he has not responded to Ukrainian requests to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Xi Jinping has not spoken to him since invading Russia more than a year ago. According to Sánchez, however, China should definitely consider Zelenskyj’s proposals. “I have encouraged President Xi to enter into a dialogue with President Zelenskyy to learn first-hand regarding the Ukrainian government’s peace plan,” Sanchez said at a press conference in Beijing.
He explained to Xi Jinping the concerns of Spain and the whole EU regarding “Putin’s illegal aggression” and was interested in the details of the Chinese position paper. It contains some “very important points” such as rejecting or threatening to use nuclear weapons. It should also be emphasized that China insists on the “territorial integrity” of all countries. “According to the Spanish government, this is being violated by Putin’s war,” said Sánchez. However, it is not clear whether China sees it that way.
Macron and von der Leyen are traveling to China next week
From Ukraine’s point of view, China is still exploring whether it wants to get involved in a peace process, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Financial Times. China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang has assured him that Russia will not be supplied with weapons.
Sánchez was the first Western head of government to meet the new Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang in Beijing. Sánchez advocated a better balance in his country’s and the European Union’s trade relations with China, according to the Spanish government press office. His talks dampened hopes that French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Beijing next week, who also want to talk to Xi Jinping regarding ways to end the Ukraine war.
Those: ntv.de
uzh/dpa
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