In an effort to prevent China from supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday in Beijing.
In a speech in the capital, Macron praised China’s “willingness to commit to a resolution” and said Beijing could play a “major role” in resolving the conflict.
Outside the Great Hall of the People, the capital’s center of power, the French president, who arrived on Wednesday for a three-day state visit, shook hands with Xi.
Xi greeted his guest on a huge red carpet that was lined with the flags of China and France and played the national anthems of both countries.
Western tension is mounting on China to help push for harmony in Ukraine.
However Beijing is authoritatively nonpartisan, Xi has never denounced the Russian intrusion.
Even though he recently went to Moscow to reaffirm his alliance with Putin, which was portrayed as an anti-Western facade, Xi has not even called Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine.
Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, is going to be with Macron during his trip to China. She said that Macron wants to “be a voice that unites Europe” over Ukraine and that going to China with her helps “underline the consistency of this approach.”
Macron emphasized the significance of dialogue between France and China “in these troubled times” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People.
He stated, “It is essential to be able to share a common analysis and build a common path.”
Following Macron’s talks with Xi, the two will make statements to the media. Then, von der Leyen, Macron, and three other people will meet, and then there will be a state dinner.
The president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, met with the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, in California in the midst of increasing Chinese pressure on Taiwan.
On Wednesday, Macron stated to journalists that he did not believe that his Chinese counterparts had an “overreaction desire” to the meeting.
The talks, according to Tsai, demonstrated that the self-governing island was “not isolated” on the international stage.
Taipei and the rest of the world are denied official communication by Beijing, which maintains that there is only “one China.”
China deployed an aircraft carrier through waters close to Taiwan hours before the talks began, despite repeated warnings to both sides that the meeting should not take place.
The Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan announced on Thursday that three additional warships had been observed in the waters that separated the island from mainland China.
