China responded to European leaders’ appeals to the Asian nation to intervene in the war in Ukraine by saying it would push for peace “in its own way.”
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang rejected European allegations that his country, which is closely aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was not an active participant in achieving peace in Ukraine, saying China was facilitating peace in its own way despite only issuing tepid condemnation of Putin’s aggression.
Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, pushed China to take more decisive action, saying the bloc and China had overlapping interests hindered by the war.
“The EU and China, we agreed that this war is threatening global security and the world’s economy,” Michel said during the two-hour meeting on Friday. “This global instability is not in China’s interest and not in the EU’s interest.”
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As China touted its relationship with Russia, the EU, despite its frustrations, insisted the two have common goals binding their relationship together.
“We share [the] same goals,” Michel said. “We want peace. We want prosperity. We want security.”
If China joined the West in putting pressure on Putin to withdraw from Ukraine, it would help improve China’s economic outlook and its reputation in Europe, Michel said.
China has taken a tepid approach to Russia. After signing a joint statement of interest in early February, weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the nation failed to condemn the aggressive action and even tried to blame the West for provoking the war.
Days before China met with the EU, top representatives also met with Russian representatives in China. During that meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, reportedly said the China-Russia partnership had “withstood the test of international turbulence” and that “our striving for peace has no limits, our upholding of security has no limits, our opposition towards hegemony has no limits.”
Despite its antagonism toward the West, China has significant ties to Western countries via trade and international organizations, chiefly the United Nations.
“China, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has a very special responsibility,” said Ursula von der Lyen, the European Commission president. “This is what we discussed in a very frank and open manner.”
“We made very clear that China should, if not support, at least not interfere with our sanctions,” she continued.
The EU leaders avoided threatening China in their statements following the summit, but both Michel and von der Lyen emphasized the important economic consequences of the war.
Von der Lyen made the argument that the roughly 2 billion euros, or approximately $2.2 billion, worth of daily trade between the EU and China far outstrips the 330 million euros, or $364 million, in daily trade between China and Russia.
“A prolongation of the war and the disruptions it brings to the world economy is to no one’s interests, certainly not in China’s,” she said.
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While she touted the trade between the bloc and China, von der Lyen also took the opportunity to hammer China on its trade measures punishing Lithuania that are disrupting the EU’s internal market. The EU has an open complaint with the World Trade Organization over China’s sanctions, and she said it would remain open until China addressed the situation.
Western allies have imposed punishing sanctions on Russia, which have had mixed effects on the nation’s economy.
