Ukraine Conflict: France Insists on China’s Role for Global Peace

France said Wednesday that China had an important role to play for “global peace and stability” as Beijing seeks to mediate in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang is visiting Germany, France and Norway this week, and met his French counterpart Catherine Colonna in Paris on Wednesday.

“We know the importance of China’s role on the world stage and the importance of the role it can play for global peace and stability,” Colonna told Qin at the start of their meeting.

China should work “to convince Russia to return to fully respecting” the UN Charter, she added, before a scheduled dinner with Qin at the French foreign ministry.

Colonna had earlier 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 Europe should not be a “follower” of either Washington or Beijing or get caught up in any escalation over the future of Taiwan.

The remarks sparked criticism from some allies, including from German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who called them “unfortunate”, adding: “We have never been in danger of becoming or being a vassal of the United States.”

China has sought to portray itself as a neutral party in Russia’s war against its neighbour, with President Xi Jinping last month holding his first telephone call with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky since Moscow’s invasion.

But recent comments by China’s ambassador to France questioning the sovereignty of ex-Soviet states threw its neutral stance into question, and Beijing’s 12-point position paper on ending the conflict was met with scepticism by the United States and NATO.

Colonna told Qin she also wanted to discuss the “concerning attitude” of North Korea, referring to the country’s recent series of missile launches.

She asked Qin to reflect on how to “respond with unity and continue working towards stability in the peninsula and the region”.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)