China, France call for peace in Ukraine as Macron wraps up visit to Beijing

By Emre Aytekin

BEIJING (AA) — China and France both called for peace in Ukraine on Friday as President Emmanuel Macron wrapped up his three-day visit to Beijing.

In a joint statement, Macron and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping said the sides agreed to strengthen political dialogue, promote mutual political trust, jointly promote world security and stability, and respond to global challenges together.

"Both sides support all efforts to restore peace in Ukraine on the basis of international law and the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter," they said in a joint statement.

The statement was issued after Macron's meeting with Xi in the southeastern city of Guangzhou.

During the meeting, Xi reiterated China's call for a cease-fire for the war in Ukraine, emphasizing that China would welcome France presenting concrete proposals on a political resolution to the crisis.

Xi said that the continuation of the war would be of no benefit to any party.

The French president also addressed students at Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou.

In his speech, Macron underlined that the war in Ukraine was a clear violation of international law and called for joint efforts for the preservation and reconstruction of the international order focused on peace and stability.

China has avoided using the words "war" and "occupation" for the conflict that broke out in February last year and it also abstained in a UN Security Council vote about Russia's annexations of parts of Ukraine.

China was among the few countries that did not condemn Moscow.

On the anniversary of the war, China released a statement outlining Beijing's position on a political settlement to the war in Ukraine in 12 points that included respecting the sovereignty of all nations, ceasing hostilities, resuming peace talks, and resolving the humanitarian crisis in the region.

The plan also called for the safety of nuclear power plants, the facilitation of grain exports, and the cessation of unilateral sanctions, stressing that "dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solutions to the Ukraine crisis."