(ANSA-AFP) - BEIJING, 01 APR - The Foreign Minister of France, Stéphane Séjourné, on a visit to Beijing, where he met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, said he expected China to send a "clear message" to Moscow on the Ukraine.
"We expect China to send a very clear message to Russia," Séjourné said at a press conference after the meeting. "We expect - he added - that Beijing will promote a balance of forces more favorable to Ukraine", because "it is clear that China plays a key role in independence and respect for international law, including the sovereignty of Ukraine".
China is formally neutral in the confrontation between Moscow and Kiev, even if it has increasingly close relations with Russia, over which it has influence: a tool that it should then use to put an end to the conflict in Eastern Europe, according to Paris and Western countries .
"That war involves the entire international community", said the head of French diplomacy to his Chinese colleague. "We are convinced that there will not be a lasting peace if it is not negotiated with the Ukrainians" and that "there will be no security for Europeans if there is not a peace in accordance with international law. For us - concluded Séjourné - this is an essential point and it is This is why France is determined to maintain a close dialogue with China."
France does not seek economic "decoupling" from China, the French Foreign Minister also said.
At the same time, however, Paris aspires to an "economic rebalancing" with Beijing, to ensure that trade is "healthy and sustainable", as Séjounrné added in the joint press conference with his Chinese colleague. (ANSA-AFP).
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