China: Macron and Xi warn of escalation in the Ukraine war – von der Leyen demands talks with Selenskyj

Macron and von der Leyen want to get China's head of state Xi Jinping on their side in the Ukraine war.

Publicly, however, Xi only emphasizes well-known positions.

What he personally thinks remains unknown.

Beijing/Munich – Emmanuel Macron gives Xi Jinping a friendly pat on the shoulder, Ursula von der Leyen stands a few centimeters away.

The photo from the tripartite summit in Beijing could not show more clearly how the roles of the French President and the head of the EU Commission are distributed in interaction with China's head of state.

Here the Macron, who relies on commitment, there the China-skeptical European.

Shortly before her trip, von der Leyen had called for “de-risking” in dealings with China.

Macron, on the other hand, courted Xi as a mediator in the Ukraine war.

Shortly before the meeting, the 45-year-old stressed on Twitter that he was "convinced that China has an important role to play in building peace." At the beginning of the summit, Macron then said to Xi.

"I know I can count on you to talk sense into Russia."

At the press conference after their bilateral meeting, Xi and Macron called on the international community to prevent the Ukraine conflict from escalating.

In terms of content, however, there were no new focal points.

Xi Jinping quoted verbatim from his government's twelve-point paper presented in February.

Attacks on civilians or civilian facilities should be avoided, and the use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons should be avoided, Xi stressed.

Attacks on nuclear power plants would also have to be rejected.

The fact that Xi affirmed that "legitimate security interests of all parties" must be taken into account shows that he is not moving an inch from his "pro-Russian neutrality", at least publicly.

He uttered no further criticism of the invasion.

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Tripartite summit in Beijing: French President Emmanuel Macron (l), China's head of state Xi Jinping (m) and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (r)

© LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool/AFP

China's head of state: His personal stance on the Ukraine war is unknown

However, it is not unusual for China not to make any public concessions to other countries.

It is ultimately unknown whether Xi Macron made different promises behind closed doors or even put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin in the background.

But it didn't sound like a breakthrough on Thursday.

Especially since the Kremlin promptly rebuffed it: China has "undoubtedly a very effective and outstanding mediation potential," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

But the situation with Ukraine is "complex".

"So far there has been no prospect of a political solution." According to the Kremlin spokesman, Moscow currently sees "no other options than continuing the special operation".

Ursula von der Leyen meanwhile emphasized that she had called on Xi to contact Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Chinese leader has reiterated his willingness to speak to Zelenskyy when the conditions are right, she said at her press conference.

Von der Leyen also emphasized that she was counting on China not providing Russia with any military equipment, either directly or indirectly.

"Arming the aggressor would be against international law and it would seriously damage our relations." As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has a great responsibility.

Meanwhile, CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter warned of caution with regard to China's peace plan.

Xi Jinping has so far rejected every offer of talks from Ukraine because his government does not see Ukraine as a sovereign state, Kiesewetter said on Deutschlandfunk.

"But they see Ukraine as part of Russia, just as they see Taiwan as part of the People's Republic of China." China's diplomats do not openly say so.

Yet there is no criticism of Russia's invasion from Beijing - only general statements about sovereign rights and the inviolability of borders.

He does not say how Xi personally feels about Ukraine.

China: That's why Macron and von der Leyen are in Beijing

Instead, there is a lot of diplomacy.

According to state media, Xi said the joint visit by Macron and von der Leyen "reflects the positive will of the European side to develop relations with China." These relations are not directed against third parties and are not controlled by third parties - by which he means the USA should have.

China is ready to strengthen mutual strategic trust with the EU.

Beijing makes no secret of the fact that it would like to separate the EU from the close transatlantic partnership with the USA.

In this environment, the Chinese side appreciates France's perceived constructive attitude.

Xi Jinping himself ensnared the French President with words of praise after a long handshake.

And he will accompany Macron to Guangzhou on Friday - a very unusual move as Xi does not normally meet foreign guests of state outside the capital.

Whether this grant is an attempt to split the EU is unclear.

In any case, von der Leyen's position is closer to the USA's China-critical line than Macron's.

In Washington, the signs are not exactly pointing to compromises with Beijing.

But at the beginning of the week, Macron and the head of the EU Commission agreed on their approach to the China trip over lunch.

Media reports therefore spoke of a possible "good cop bad cop" appearance - with Macron in the role of the friendly "policeman".

Macron relies on cooperation - von der Leyen and Baerbock promote "de-risking".

Macron campaigned in Beijing for more exchange.

He has a large delegation of business representatives and cultural workers with him.

In addition to the Ukraine war and economic relations, the joint fight against the climate crisis is also on his agenda.

Airbus, in the presence of Macron and Xi, agreed to set up a second assembly line for A320 family aircraft at the Tianjin site.

This will double the production capacity for the A320 on Chinese soil, said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury on Thursday.

It is "perfectly logical" for Airbus to increase production in China because the market there is growing, according to Faury.

Ursula von der Leyen, on the other hand, called for "de-risking" in her keynote address on the EU's China policy last week.

But it was very important to discuss with Xi that "we think de-risking is important, not decoupling," she said in Beijing on Thursday.

"De-risking" seems to be the new word for the EU when dealing with China, alongside "diversification".

Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also advocated "de-risking" at a NATO meeting on Wednesday.

The Green politician will reportedly fly to Asia for several days next week, including a stopover in Beijing.

List of rubrics: © LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool/AFP