German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday he had urged Xi Jinping to press ally Russia to end its “senseless” war in Ukraine and that the Chinese president had agreed to back a peace conference in Switzerland.
Scholz said after a meeting with Xi at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on Tuesday that “China’s word carries weight in Russia”.
“I have therefore asked President Xi to influence Russia so that Putin finally calls off his senseless campaign, withdraws his troops and ends this terrible war,” he said on social media platform X.
He said Xi had agreed to back the peace conference in Switzerland, which is due to take place in June without Russia in attendance.
China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict but it has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow for its offensive.
China and Russia have ramped up economic cooperation and diplomatic contacts in recent years, their strategic partnership only growing closer since the invasion of Ukraine.
Sholz said in talks with Xi on Tuesday “the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and Russia’s armament have a very significant negative impact on security in Europe”, according to a recording provided by the chancellor’s office.
“They directly affect our core interests,” he told Xi, adding they “damage the entire international order because they violate a principle of the United Nations Charter”.
Sholz, whose country is Ukraine’s second-biggest military backer, stressed at a news conference later that it was important to “advance the diplomatic efforts that Ukraine is also working very hard on”.
“I believe that this is progress that is necessary because, in addition to the military support for Ukraine from Germany and its allies, there is also a need for a dialogue between the two countries,” he said.
Chinese state media, in turn, said Xi had highlighted the importance of ties in the face of “increasing risks and challenges”.
“China and Germany are the second and third largest economies in the world,” state broadcaster CCTV quoted Xi as having said.
He also laid out what state media described as “four principles to prevent the Ukraine crisis from spiralling out of control and to restore peace”.
Nations must focus on “the upholding of peace and stability and refrain from seeking selfish gains”, Xi said, as well as “cool down the situation and not add fuel to the fire”.
“We need to create conditions for the restoration of peace and refrain from further exacerbating tensions,” Xi said, while aiming to “reduce the negative impact on the world economy”.
