Macron will press Xi Jinping to use his influence on Putin: “We must work with China to build peace”

French President Emmanuel Macron will press his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to use his influence with Russia to help resolve the war in Ukraine during the Chinese leader’s European tour in early May. According to analysts, however, there is not much hope for progress, AFP informs on Friday, according to Agerpres.

The Chinese president is to land in Paris on Sunday and will then visit Serbia and Hungary.

International crises, trade issues, climate and even cultural exchanges: there are numerous issues on which Paris “intends to strengthen dialogue at the highest level” with the world’s second largest economy. However, the key issue will be “to remember that for Europe the first topic with China is its position towards Ukraine”, according to Paris.

“It is not in China’s interest today to have a Russia that destabilizes the international order (…) Therefore, we must work with China to build peace,” French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized in a recent interview with The Economist.

In April, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on Xi Jinping to act for a “just peace”.

An approach doomed to failure

In fact, this was the “assumed and official priority” of Emmanuel Macron during his visit to China a year ago, Marc Julienne, director of the Asian center of the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), reminds AFP. “The idea was to convince China to (…) make (Russian President) Vladimir Putin listen to reason. It was a failed attempt,” he adds.

“France and the European Union expect him to use his influence on Russia, but Xi Jinping has nothing to offer regarding Ukraine,” says a former European diplomat.

“On Ukraine, China has done nothing,” notes Julienne, except for the February 2023 proposal of a 12-point text to “seek a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis,” which failed.

China proclaims its neutrality and has never condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Beijing is however accused by Washington of providing crucial aid to Moscow, being for this, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the most important supplier of machine tools, microelectronics, explosive semiconductors, which are essential for the manufacture of missiles, and ammunition, such as and other dual-use components that Russia uses to strengthen its defense industry.

Beijing rejects the accusations, claiming that it respects export rules.

President Macron would, however, mention “concerns” about “the activity of certain companies in Wuhan that could participate directly or contribute significantly to Russia’s war effort,” according to his entourage.

Countering the West

Beijing also provides significant support to the Russian economy. The volume of bilateral trade increased by almost 30% in 2022, a trend that accelerated in 2023, according to Alice Ekman from the Institute for Security Studies of the European Union (IESUE).

Russian oil imports to China rose by 55% between May 2021 and May 2022, with Moscow becoming China’s top oil supplier, according to Chinese customs figures cited by Ekman in an essay on China-Russia “great rapprochement”.

According to many experts, Beijing considers Moscow a priority partner in its opposition to the United States and in outlining a new post-Western world order.

“Xi Jinping’s priority is the great South (…). There is a congruence in the Sino-Russian bilateral relationship, especially in the desire to counter the West. Which does not mean that there is no rivalry”, analyzes for AFP Emmanuel Lincot, a professor at the Catholic Institute in Paris, who says that “there is not much expectation” from Xi’s visit to Paris.

“All of Xi Jinping’s rhetoric is oriented towards the decline of democracies and the desired divisions between the United States and Europe,” believes Francois Godement, advisor for Asia at the Montaigne Institute.

However, “although the Franco-Chinese relationship is difficult, it is necessary. It is important to communicate in times of crisis,” Lincot believes.

“We are dealing with a dictatorship that is increasingly close to Moscow (…), but it would be crazy to play the card of confrontation as the Americans do because we are not playing on the same field, we do not have the same tools at hand “, he adds.

After Paris, President Xi will travel to Belgrade – which has never imposed sanctions on Russia and maintains quite cordial relations with Moscow – and to Budapest, which has on several occasions made its discordant voice heard within the EU on the issue of sanctions against Russia.

Publisher: CLB

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