At the annual EU-China meeting on Dec. 7 in Beijing, EU leaders urged China to use its influence on Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine, and to engage with the Ukrainian Peace Formula.
"As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has a special responsibility, because this Russian war threatens global stability and the world economy...This is not in Europe’s interest, this is not in China’s interest, this is not in the world’s interests,” European Council chief Charles Michel said.
China has been accused of providing technical and operational support to Moscow during its invasion of Ukraine, stopping short of direct military aid.
“Russia continues to look for ways to access technology to power its war. Once again, we insisted that China should not supply military tools to Russia. And we reiterated how important it is that China help to prevent Russia from circumventing sanctions."
The world's second largest economy, China wields substantial influence over any international sanctions objectives. Beijing has helped Russian companies evade U.S. and EU sanctions and tap global commodities markets.
“Our relationship with China is complex and we have a responsibility to make it work. We agreed that it is in our joint interest to have balanced trade relations. And we need to address challenges in a world with increasing geopolitical frictions,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
Martin Fornusek
