Two of Europe’s top delegates were in China for talks with President Xi Jinping regarding bilateral and trilateral discussions, but more importantly, there was another agenda that European visitors were looking for.
French President Emmanuel Macron called on China’s leader to bring back Russia to the negotiation table with Ukraine to stop the ongoing war.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also visited China this week for the same reason, saying that the European Union expects that China will play its role and promote a just peace, one that respects Ukraine’s sovereign and territorial integrity.
These requests actually come from the group of countries who have fueled the war since the beginning by supplying tons of weapons to the side that they believed to be the victim.
Late last year, a mass protest stormed the street in Paris, demanding the government to withdraw from NATO and to cease its support to Ukraine with weaponry.
In February, thousands of protestors took part in a demonstration in central Berlin against giving more weapons to Ukraine and urged the government to mediate for peace.
The uproar in European countries comes amid rising cost of living from expensive energy prices as inflation recently hit decade highs.
The trip to talks for trade and peace by European delegates came after the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell openly slammed Beijing for supplying weapons to Russia. He pointed out that the Kremlin immediately deployed tactical weapons, nuclear tactical weapons in Belarus after the visit of Xi Jinping in Moscow last month.
European Commission President Ursula also warned China not to provide military support to Russia whether it be directly or indirectly as this would significantly harm relationship between China and Europe as well as violating international law.
