The Chinese Foreign Ministry also blamed the United States for the war in Ukraine, at least in part, for pushing to expand NATO’s military alliance closer to Russia’s borders. Twenty-one of the 27 EU countries are also NATO members. At a virtual summit, European Council President Charles Michel, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell sought signs from Chinese President and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang that Beijing would help end the war in Ukraine. “China deplores the resolution of problems through sanctions and we are even more opposed to unilateral sanctions and long-term jurisdiction that are not based on international law,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a news conference during their meeting. Zao said that when it comes to Ukraine, Beijing will not be forced to “choose a side or adopt a simplistic approach of friend or foe.” “In particular, we must resist the thought of the Cold War and the bloc confrontation.” “As the culprit and main instigator of the crisis in Ukraine, the United States has led NATO to participate in five rounds of eastward expansion in the last two decades since 1999,” he said, adding that NATO membership had almost doubled from 16 to 30 countries and pushed “Russia to the wall step by step”. China says it is not taking sides in the conflict, but has declared an “unlimited” partnership with Russia and refuses to condemn the invasion. Beijing regularly reinforces Russian misinformation about the conflict and does not refer to it as invasion or war in accordance with Russian practice. In a press release after the first summit, Li reiterated the importance of China-EU ties, saying he hoped the two “remain open to each other, steadily expand market access, protect fair competition and promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. “ “China hopes that the EU will also provide a healthy business environment for Chinese companies investing and growing in Europe,” Li was quoted as saying. Ahead of the summit, EU officials said they would look for indications that Beijing is willing to work together to end the war. The meeting takes place amid a growing negative climate within the bloc fueled by China’s aggressive foreign policy and trade practices. “The international community, especially China and the EU, have a mutual responsibility to use their common influence and diplomacy to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and its humanitarian crisis,” Michel wrote. The EU’s expectations for China are the possibility of imposing sanctions on Chinese companies that undermine the measures taken against Russia. EU officials say 13.7% of China’s total trade is with the 27-nation bloc and 12% with the United States, compared with just 2.4% with Russia. Officials said they also wanted to stress the impact of the war on fertilizer availability and world energy and food prices, which hit the poorest countries in Africa and the Middle East hardest. Other issues include China’s travel ban on members of the European Parliament. Beijing’s economic boycott of Lithuania – an EU member for its relations with Taiwan. the fate of an investment deal that has halted both individual and political rights under the authoritarian regime of the Communist Party of China. Beijing has dismissed European criticism as biased and driven by an anti-Chinese agenda pursued by its main global rival, the United States. Beijing also imposed sanctions on some European Union lawmakers last year after the EU, Britain, Canada and the United States imposed coordinated sanctions on Chinese officials for human rights abuses in the far western Xinjiang region. The European Parliament responded by saying it would not ratify a long-awaited business investment agreement as long as sanctions remain in place. Human rights groups have also called on the EU to take a more proactive stance against China over repression in Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong and elsewhere, and to prosecute Chinese dissidents, including award-winning Tohton and Zacharo Shaharo Gui Minhai.
Moritsugu reported from Beijing.
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