As President Emmanuel Macron of France and Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, concluded a three-day summit on Friday, their two governments issued a joint statement supporting peace efforts and opposing attacks on nuclear facilities in Ukraine.
The statement said that China and France “support all efforts to restore peace in Ukraine on the basis of international law and the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter.” It also said they endorsed the U.N. nuclear agency’s efforts to promote the security of “peaceful nuclear installations,” including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, which has been repeatedly hit by shelling during the yearlong war.
The statement, released by the French government, called on “all parties in the conflict to scrupulously observe international humanitarian law” and “to provide safe, fast and unhindered access for humanitarian aid.”
Mr. Macron and Mr. Xi visited the southern Chinese manufacturing hub of Guangzhou on Friday, shifting attention to the countries’ economic ties a day after the French leader called on Beijing to do more to help bring an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
It is rare for Mr. Xi to meet with foreign leaders outside the capital, highlighting the importance of Mr. Macron’s visit as China’s relations with the United States worsen. Those tensions were intensified this week when Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, met with the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, in California.
The State of the War
- China Under the Spotlight: Beijing’s role in pressing Russia to end the war in Ukraine was expected to be a main topic of discussion during a three-day trip to China by Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
- Zelensky in Poland: On his first official visit to Poland, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine won strong backing from Polish leaders for his country’s rapid entry into NATO and signed a deal paving the way for the joint production of arms and ammunition.
- Finland’s Entry to NATO: The Nordic country officially became the military alliance’s 31st member, in what amounts to a strategic defeat for President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
- Drone Warfare: Using aerial drones to spot the enemy and direct artillery fire has become a staple of war for Ukraine and Russia, especially in the fiercely contested city of Bakhmut.
“Xi’s travel to Guangzhou to meet Macron again suggests that China is strongly interested in developing stable and cooperative relations with France,” said Li Mingjiang, an associate professor of international relations at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
“Beijing hopes that Macron may be able to play a role in stabilizing E.U.-China relations as well,” Mr. Li added. “This is a very important diplomatic goal for China in the context of worsening relations with the United States and Washington’s efforts in rallying its allies and partners against China.”
But China’s charm offensive has limits. Mr. Xi gave no indication on Thursday that he was willing to answer Mr. Macron’s call to “bring Russia back to reason and everyone back to the negotiating table” on Ukraine.
Instead, Mr. Xi said he was ready to issue a joint call with Mr. Macron for a political settlement in Ukraine that accommodated “the legitimate security concerns of all parties” — language that echoes Beijing’s and Moscow’s assertion that the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization into Eastern Europe caused the war.
Mr. Xi also said he was willing to speak with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine when “conditions and time are right,” according to Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, who accompanied Mr. Macron to Beijing.
Ms. von der Leyen, who ended her visit on Thursday, received a cooler reception than Mr. Macron because of her more hawkish views on China, highlighted in a speech she gave last week warning that Beijing was trying to build an alternative world order that would put security ahead of human rights.
In an apparent rebuke, Mr. Xi told Ms. von der Leyen that the European Union should “avoid misunderstanding and misjudgment,” according to a readout of the two leaders’ meeting.
China is hoping to drive a wedge between Europe and the United States by courting European leaders like Mr. Macron, who favor greater autonomy from American foreign policy. Beijing’s fear is that Europe could put trade and investment restrictions on China like those imposed by the United States, which is far more suspicious of Beijing’s intentions.
To avert that scenario, China is looking to exploit splits within Europe over how to deal with Beijing, focusing its attention on countries like France and Germany, which have strong business lobbies that want more access to the Chinese market.
Mr. Xi, in a speech at the China-France Business Council on Thursday, urged French companies to increase their presence in his country and warned against “decoupling,” as Washington calls its policy of unwinding supply chains from China to mitigate perceived security risks.
