Borrell: ‘Deaf dialogue’ the summit with China

The head of European diplomacy described the summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “deaf dialogue”, questioning whether Beijing would work with the EU to end the war in Ukraine.

“China wanted to put aside our differences over Ukraine,” said Josep Borrell, who spoke with European leaders in talks with President Xi last week, according to Bloomberg.

“They did not want to talk about Ukraine. They did not want to talk about human rights and other issues, and instead focused on positive things,” he said.

Mr Borel told the European Parliament on Tuesday that “the European side has made it clear that such fragmentation is not possible, it is not acceptable”, explaining that “for us the war in Ukraine is a crucial moment in whether we live in a world governed by rules or by force. ”

Characteristic of the distance between the two sides is the view expressed by China on the April 1 summit between President Xi, the head of the Commission von der Leyen and the President of the European Council Michel. According to a Chinese statement, the EU “expressed its desire for sincere exchanges with China in order to maintain the good momentum of EU-China relations”.

For his part, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian insisted today that the talks were “extremely successful” and that Borrell’s views were “not based on facts”.

“What the EU needs to do is step up the consensus and spirit of the China-EU summit to promote bilateral relations, rather than make irresponsible remarks,” Zhao added.

It is noted that Ursula von der Leyen had mentioned during the discussions that Brussels expects Beijing “at least to do everything in order not to interfere in any way” in the EU sanctions imposed on Moscow. For his part, Charles Michel said in a press conference that “we called on China to help end the war.”

China has come under pressure from the United States to take a clear stance against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Chinese diplomats and state media downplaying civilian casualties and portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin as a victim of NT.

Also, while he has spoken with key actors in the controversy, including Cf. Putin and US President Joe Biden, President Xi has not yet contacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Xi told the summit that the current situation risks erasing the benefits of global economic cooperation and that Beijing and Brussels should commit to preventing the spread of the crisis.