French President Emmanuel Macron said China can play a “major role” in Ukraine while adding that he opposes moves to decouple from the world’s second-biggest economy, as he pushes Europe to take a more moderate stance toward Beijing than the US is demanding.
(Bloomberg) — French President Emmanuel Macron said China can play a “major role” in Ukraine while adding that he opposes moves to decouple from the world’s second-biggest economy, as he pushes Europe to take a more moderate stance toward Beijing than the US is demanding.
Moments after Macron landed in China for a three-day visit, he made clear his strategy to appease tensions and find common ground with Beijing on several fronts, starting with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He suggested that China could use its close ties with Russia to push for peace.
“We need to try to engage with China strategically and speak with them directly about this Russian aggression and the consequences for Europe,” Macron said in a speech at the French embassy, a day before a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Xi Courts Macron in Bid to Drive Wedge Between Europe and US
“China, thanks to its relationship with Russia, can play a major role,” Macron added, citing what he saw as positive signs like Beijing’s 12-point blueprint for peace.
While China has cast itself as neutral on Russia’s invasion, its stance has effectively benefited Russian President Vladimir Putin. Xi used a two-day visit to Moscow last month to underscore his warm ties with Putin, while the Russian leader praised China’s stance.
Macron acknowledged he doesn’t expect to “stop the war” but warned China that any country that delivered weapons to Russia would become complicit in a breach of international law. “It’s not in China’s interest to send arms to Russia,” he told reporters after his speech, while also refusing to threaten China with sanctions.
US Stance
The French leader also sought to mark a difference with the US’s tougher approach on China, echoing a common European effort to balance engaging with China on trade and investment, as well as demanding respect for human rights and territorial sovereignty in Ukraine among others.
“We mustn’t decouple with China,” Macron said. “There’s a rivalry with the European Union that we fully acknowledge, but we also know that there are major international issues that we need to work on together,” he added, citing Iran and North Korea.
He also said that China needed to reciprocate EU trade overtures.
The French leader’s visit comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez made separate trips to China to meet with Xi. Macron will be traveling with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, underscoring a message of European unity.
–With assistance from Foster Wong and John Follain.
(Updates with Macron remarks from second paragraph)
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