China and France
France has asked China to make clear to Russia that Moscow is in an "impasse" in its war with Ukraine, as Beijing seeks to mediate in the conflict.
Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told a cabinet meeting that Beijing should urge Russia to "return to peace", according to a post-cabinet press briefing.
"It is necessary for China to use its relations with Russia to make Russia understand better that it is at an impasse, and to tell Russia to come back to its senses," she said.
The request comes after French President Emmanuel Macron visited China last month and sparked controversy by saying that Europe should not be a "follower" of either Washington or Beijing or get caught up in any escalation over the future of Taiwan. — AFP
The French government will use a scheduled meeting with China's ambassador in Paris on Monday for a "stern rebuke" after his remarks on post-Soviet states sparked outrage, the foreign ministry says.
Beijing's ambassador to France Lu Shaye triggered a furore by saying on French television that countries that emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union "don't have effective status under international law because there is not an international agreement confirming their status as sovereign nations".
An official at the French foreign ministry told AFP said a meeting of its chief of staff with the Chinese ambassador -- which had been scheduled before he made the controversial remarks -- "will be an opportunity for a stern rebuke".
Lu's comments on Friday sparked a wave of outrage across Europe, leading the EU's three Baltic countries on Monday to summon China's envoys to explain the remarks. — AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron tells his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday that he was counting on him to "bring Russia to its senses" vis-a-vis its war in Ukraine.
"I know I can count on you to bring Russia to its senses and everyone to the negotiating table," the French head of state tells Xi during a bilateral meeting in Beijing. — AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron is due in Beijing on Wednesday for a visit in which he hopes to dissuade China from supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while also forging closer ties with a crucial trade partner.
Macron will look to stand firm on Ukraine during talks with his counterpart Xi Jinping and offer "another path" from the directly confrontational tone often heard from Washington, an official from his office told reporters before the three-day trip.
The French leader's aims include preserving and rebalancing China's trade ties with Europe as well as safeguarding French interests in the Asia-Pacific region, where Paris sees itself as a player due to its overseas territories and military deployments. — AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron says he would visit China in early April and called on Beijing to "help us pressure Russia" to end the war in Ukraine.
Speaking a day after China called for urgent peace talks as it released its plan to end the war in Ukraine, Macron says peace was only possible if "the Russian aggression was halted, troops withdrawn and territorial sovereignty of Ukraine and its people was respected". — AFP
Follow this thread for updates on China-France relations.
PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron (L) meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Nov. 15, 2022. Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP
- Latest
- Trending
