Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, left, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen video with European Council President Charles Michel and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell during the EU China Summit at the European Council Building in Brussels Speak through conference.
Highlight
- China again criticizes West’s sanctions against Russia as EU seeks assurance not to help Moscow
- China accuses US, NATO of insisting on expanding NATO military alliance for war in Ukraine
- We should especially oppose Cold War thinking and stop confrontation: China
China reiterated its criticism of Western sanctions against Russia on Friday, as top EU officials sought assurances from Beijing that it would not help Moscow block economic measures imposed in response to Ukraine’s invasion.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry blamed the war in Ukraine at least partly on the United States for insisting on expanding the NATO military alliance closer to Russia’s borders. Twenty-one of the 27 countries of the European Union are also NATO member states.
In a virtual summit, European Council President Charles Michel, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell were seeking signals from Chinese President and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang that Beijing would help end the war.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a daily briefing, “China refuses to solve problems through sanctions, and we are even more opposed to unilateral sanctions and prolonged jurisdiction, which is defined in international law.” There is no basis.”
Zhao said that when it comes to Ukraine, Beijing “will not be forced to choose a side or adopt a simple friend-or-foe approach. We should specifically oppose Cold War thinking and confront confrontation.” must be stopped.”
“As the perpetrator and major catalyst of the Ukraine crisis, the US has engaged NATO in five rounds of eastward expansion over the past two decades since 1999,” he said, adding that NATO membership is around 16 to 30 countries. and pushed “Russia to the wall step by step”.
China says it is not taking sides in the conflict, but has announced a “no borders” partnership with Russia and declined to condemn the invasion. Beijing regularly raises Russian propaganda about the conflict, and does not refer to it as an invasion or war, according to Russian practice.
Ahead of the summit, EU officials said they would look for signs that Beijing was ready to cooperate in ending the war. The meeting comes amid growing negative sentiment within the bloc due to China’s aggressive foreign policies and trade practices.
Behind the EU’s hopes for China is the possibility of punishments against Chinese companies that undermine measures taken against Russia. EU officials point out that 13.7% of China’s total trade is done with the 27-nation bloc and 12% with the United States, compared with only 2.4% with Russia.
Officials said they also wanted to emphasize the impact of the war on fertilizer availability and global energy and food prices, which are affecting the poorest countries in Africa and the Middle East the most.
Other topics include China’s travel ban on members of the European Parliament; Beijing’s economic boycott of EU member Lithuania over its Taiwan relations; the fate of a stalled investment agreement; and civil and political rights under China’s authoritarian Communist Party regime.
Beijing has dismissed European criticism as biased and motivated by an anti-China agenda, which is being pursued by its main global rival, the United States.
Beijing also approved some EU lawmakers last year after the European Union, Britain, Canada and the United States launched coordinated sanctions against officials in China over human rights abuses in the far western Xinjiang region.
The European Parliament responded by saying it would not ratify the long-awaited trade investment deal as long as sanctions remain in place.
Rights groups have also urged the European Union to take a more assertive stand with China over the repression in Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong and elsewhere and the persecution of Chinese dissidents, including Sakharov Prize winner Ilham Tohti and Sino-Swedish publisher Gui Minhai.