“No other country has more influence on Russia than China,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday, calling on Beijing “to ask the Russian aggressor to end the war in Ukraine.”
“I must frankly say that I wonder why the Chinese position so far has not included a call for the Russian aggressor to end the war,” she told Beijing at a press conference along with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang.
According to Ms. Baerbock, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Moscow has shown “that no other country has more influence over Russia than China and that the decision to use this influence directly affects the vital interests of Europe”.
“Just as China has successfully pushed for a peaceful settlement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, we want China to put pressure on Russia to finally end its aggression and engage in a peaceful solution to the conflict,” the minister added also makes her first trip to China.
His visit comes a week after that of French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who also called on Beijing, near Moscow, to play a role in bringing peace to Ukraine.
International pressure has mounted in recent weeks to urge China to intervene with Russia and bring it to the negotiating table.
“Working for Peace”
Beijing has officially declared itself neutral since the conflict began, without ever condemning the Russian invasion.
“China has always believed that the only way to resolve the Ukraine crisis is to promote peace and talks,” Qin Gang said on Friday.
“China stands ready to keep working for peace and hopes all parties involved in the crisis will remain objective and calm and make constructive efforts together to resolve the crisis through negotiations,” he said.
The German minister was also very resolute on the question of Taiwan, where China has just started large-scale military maneuvers again.
“A military escalation in the Taiwan Strait, where 50 percent of world trade happens every day, would be a catastrophic scenario for the entire world,” she said.
“Taiwan belongs to China,” Qin Gang replied. And “no one hopes more than compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait for the maintenance of cross-strait peace and stability and the realization of the peaceful reunification of the motherland,” he added.
Emmanuel Macron, upon his return from China, unleashed a wave of incomprehension in the United States and Europe by urging the European Union not to “succeed” Washington or Beijing on the Taiwan issue, which has sometimes been interpreted as French disinterest Theme.
A destabilization of the straits “would have dramatic consequences for all countries in the world and thus for the entire global economy,” affirmed Ms. Baerbock, calling on the parties “to prevent any escalation”.
“Limited Human Rights”
On Thursday, the minister assured that the Europeans were united in their policy towards Beijing.
“There is no other partner with whom we coordinate as closely in the European Union as we do with our French friends,” she said.
She also expressed concern on Friday that “the space for civil society in China will continue to shrink and human rights will be curtailed.”
She referred to the situation of the Uyghur community in Xinjiang, which was “documented in black and white in the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights”.
This report, released in September — a mix of interviews conducted by the services and first- and second-hand information — points to the possibility of “crimes against humanity” in the region.
“Each country has a different national situation, history and culture, human rights have no universal standard,” Qin Gang replied.
“Today, Xinjiang is socially stable, economically prosperous, ethnically united, religiously harmonious, and its people live and work in peace and happiness,” he said.