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Scholz, after meeting with Xi on the “X” platform, stated that “China’s name has weight in Russia.”
“That’s why I’m asking President Xi to influence Russia so that Putin finally stops his senseless campaign, withdraws his troops and ends this terrible war,” Scholz said.
After Russia’s repeated invasion of Ukraine, the West has tried to achieve Moscow’s international isolation. Although China has outwardly tried to remain neutral, Beijing is still considered the dictator Vladimir Putin’s most important ally.
China and Russia have strengthened economic cooperation and diplomatic contacts in recent years, and since Russia’s repeated invasion of Ukraine, their strategic partnership has become even closer.
During the talks with Xi, the chancellor admitted that “Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine and Russia’s armament have a very significant negative impact on security in Europe.”
“This directly affects our basic interests,” echoed Scholz, adding that it “harms the entire international order, as it violates the principles of the UN Charter.”
Meanwhile, Chinese media reported that Xi stressed the importance of ties in the face of “growing risks and challenges”.
“China and Germany are the second and third largest economies in the world,” Xi was quoted as saying by broadcaster CCTV.
In a meeting with the German chancellor, the Chinese president also outlined four principles for the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict in order to “prevent the Ukrainian crisis from spiraling out of control and restore peace,” according to Chinese media.
The parties should focus on promoting peace and stability and refrain from pursuing selfish goals. They also “need to cool down the situation” and “shouldn’t add fuel to the fire,” Xi stressed.
“We must create the conditions for the restoration of peace and refrain from further escalation of tensions,” the Chinese president said, adding that “the negative impact on the world economy must be mitigated.”
The “Four Principles” overlap with Beijing’s document from last year, which calls for a “political settlement of the conflict.” According to several Western experts, the plan would allow Russia to keep most of the seized Ukrainian territories.
Scholz also met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang today.
This is Scholz’s second visit to China since 2021, when he took office as chancellor. He first visited China during the Covid-19 pandemic in November 2022, but that time the chancellor’s visit lasted only one day.
This time Scholz’s visit to China started on Sunday and will end today. The Chancellor is accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and business leaders. As part of his visit, Scholz visited Chongqing and Shanghai, but today he arrived in Beijing.
