The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, on Thursday urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to contribute to the end of Russian aggression against Ukraine, as part of his visit to Beijing to resume dialogue after the coronavirus pandemic and the crisis in Eastern Europe.
On his first trip to Beijing since taking office in 2019, Michel held the first high-level face-to-face meeting between the EU and China since the start of the pandemic in 2020. The meeting, which lasted three hours, has served to maintain an «open and sincere dialogue» with the Chinese leader, according to a European spokesman.
The war in Ukraine marked the meeting, in which Michel stressed that he is counting on China to ask Russia to respect the fundamental principles of the United Nations and «contribute to putting an end to the brutal Russian occupation and destruction». Both leaders agreed that any nuclear threat is «irresponsible and highly dangerous».
On the situation in the Indo-Pacific, he reiterated the EU’s commitment to its ‘one China’ policy, although he recalled the traditional European position on Taiwan. European sources pointed out before the meeting that Beijing’s increased aggressiveness towards Taiwan is «really dangerous» and stated that the use of force is not justified to regain control of the island, rejecting any military escalation in the region.
Likewise, on the trade aspect, the former Belgian prime minister has demanded fair treatment for European companies in China, insisting on the message that trade between China and the European bloc should benefit both parties and has allowed the «dramatic economic transformation» of the Asian giant.
The situation in China with the strong protests against the restrictions against the coronavirus imposed by Xi’s government have crept into the conversation between the two leaders, according to the spokesman, who explains that «there was an exchange on coronavirus and the experiences recorded in Europe and China, including the measures taken and the response of societies».
It remains to be seen whether the President of the European Council has sent any kind of message about the protests of the last few days, which have forced the authorities to give in after partially lifting the measures in several areas of the cities of Canton and Zhengzhou despite the high number of contagions.
The conversation also served to discuss respect for human rights, an issue that separates Brussels and Beijing and on which the EU leader emphasized the «universality» of fundamental rights and freedoms.
However, Xi has shown his willingness to resume the ‘ad hoc’ dialogue with the EU, which for the European spokesman is an opportunity to «address in detail the situation of minorities, as well as individual cases of Human Rights». Michel insisted that contact with Beijing will continue in order to prepare an EU-China summit next year.
Finally, the two leaders discussed the cross-sanctions imposed for the treatment of the Uyghur minority, for which the EU sanctioned several Chinese officials and Beijing responded with measures against MEPs, diplomats and activists. The spokesman did not specify if this discussion has produced any result in order to withdraw the restrictions in force.