Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to visit France in early May for bilateral talks with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, Politico reported, citing several officials in Paris and Brussels. It will be Xi's first official trip to Europe since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Politico the key aim of Xi's visit is “to rebuild bruised relations with Europe over Xi's ‘no limit partnership’ with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the Kremlin's war in Ukraine.”
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Meanwhile, China’s leadership is reportedly “trying to persuade Europe to let Russia sit at the table for future peace talks, potentially in Switzerland – or Beijing will boycott such meetings.”
Officials told Politico that message “was amplified during Chinese special envoy Li Hui's European tour earlier this month to discuss the future of Ukraine.”
Following Li's visit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that he assured “support [for] the timely convening of a peace conference with equal participation of all parties.”
According to Politico, Xi's forthcoming visit to France has been planned for months and is expected to be closely watched in Washington as well as in European capitals. Before that, during April, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will pay a visit to Beijing.
Wang Shihting, China’s ambassador to Switzerland, stated that Beijing is closely following a planned peace conference in Switzerland aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, and is examining the possibility of taking part.
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According to his interview with Neue Zuercher Zeitung, published on Monday, “China stands for promoting peace talks and has always been committed to them.”
Wang said: “We have also submitted a strategy for a political end to the conflict: the territorial sovereignty of all countries must be respected, and the UN Charter must be adhered to. In addition, all parties should work to end the war. ‘The crisis’ must be prevented from getting even worse, or even getting out of control.”
According to Wang, Beijing believes, it “should support Russia and Ukraine resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible so that the situation can be gradually de-escalated.”
Kyiv’s position on peace talks with Moscow
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office has confirmed that no aggressor country – namely Russia – is to be granted participation in the first Global Peace Summit of Ukraine, expected to take place in Switzerland in the coming months.
Igor Zhovkva, responsible for foreign and diplomatic issues in Zelensky's team, stated unequivocally: “Ukraine has a very clear position, and it does not change, despite the statements that are being made… that Russia should participate in civilized formats… Russia, which has violated all international rules, including the UN Charter and humanitarian norms, will definitely not be at the first inaugural Global Peace Summit,”
According to Zhovkva, the Ukrainian position is clear to everyone concerned, and those nations seeking to hold a truly productive first Peace Summit share it.
Zhovkva added that the result of Switzerland’s summit will be the development of a common vision by participating states on how Ukraine should achieve peace.
“If Russia will be ready to accept such a plan and to share this common philosophy… then we are speaking about the possibility during the second Global Pease Summit to talk about certain modalities and elements of the participation of representatives of this state in joint efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine,” he affirmed.
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