Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang told European leaders on Friday that Beijing would seek peace in Ukraine “in its own way” after Brussels insisted on assurances that China would not supply Russia with weapons or help it circumvent Western sanctions. reports Reuters.
Lee spoke with European Commission and European Council Presidents Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, as well as with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell for almost two hours via video link at the first EU-China summit in two years.
The Prime Minister told EU leaders that China has always sought peace, encouraged talks and is ready to continue to play a constructive role in the international community, according to Chinese state television.
EU officials close to the summit said any aid to Russia would damage China’s international reputation and jeopardize relations with its largest trading partners, Europe and the United States.
The EU spokesman said on Friday that China’s position on Russia was a “million-dollar issue”, while another said that more than a quarter of China’s world trade was with the bloc and the United States last year, compared with 2.4% for Russia.
“Are we continuing this war or are we working together to end this war?” This is the main issue for the summit, “the official said.
China itself fears that European countries are adopting tougher US foreign policy and has called on the EU to “exclude outside interference” in its relations with China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who took part in a separate virtual meeting with the two EU leaders on Friday, expressed hope that the European Union would be able to form its point of view on China “independently”, state television CCTV reported.
The British agency reminds that relations between Brussels and Beijing were strained before the war in Ukraine.
The EU has shifted sharply from soft diplomatic language in 2019 to calling China a systemic rival, but sees it as a potential partner in the fight against climate change and the pandemic.
In late 2020, Brussels and Beijing signed an investment agreement designed to allay some EU concerns about reciprocal market access. However, it has now been blocked after Brussels sanctions against Chinese officials for alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region forced Beijing to blacklist EU individuals and legal entities.
China has also since stopped importing from Lithuania after the EU’s Baltic state allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in its capital, angering Beijing, which considers the island its territory.