Chancellor of Germany presses China about Russia’s incursion into Ukraine

German leader Olaf Scholz told the leader of China, Xi Jinping, to tell Russia to stop its crazy attack in Ukraine. Many European leaders are also asking Russia to stop.

The Chinese side didn’t show any sign of changing its stance. They blame Europe and the US for making the fighting in Ukraine last longer by giving them weapons. They also want peace talks to consider both Russian and Ukrainian concerns.

“China is not part of the Ukraine crisis but has consistently supported peace talks in its own way,” said a statement from China after discussions between Xi and Scholz in Beijing.

Scholz, finishing a three-day trip to China, told reporters that he thinks progress has been made to help discussions on ending the war.

Before, he posted on social media platform X that he talked to Xi and asked him to help with Russia.

China has significant influence in Russia. So I asked President Xi to pressure Russia to make Putin stop the war and bring his troops back.

China has decided not to criticize Russia’s invasion, which is different from the way Western countries are responding. The government says it is not giving military help to Moscow, but it is helping Russia’s economy by trading with them. This is to help Russia deal with the sanctions from Western countries. A recent report from US intelligence found that China has been selling more equipment to Russia in order to help them in their war against Ukraine.

Scholz said the discussions talked about China’s exports of goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.

“He said it’s really important to not export any weapons, but we also have to think about items that could be used as weapons too. ” “We can make sure that everything needed is clear and easy to understand here. ”

Scholz said that using nuclear weapons should not even be talked about, according to a German government report of what he said at the beginning of the meeting with Xi.

Last month, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, said that his government is prepared to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence is in danger. This is the latest time he has made this kind of threat since taking over Ukraine.

The leaders of China and Germany both said they are committed to the UN Charter and do not support using nuclear weapons.

China wants to help solve the crisis peacefully. They support having a peace conference that both Russia and Ukraine agree to. They want everyone to be able to take part and discuss their ideas for peace.

Xi told Scholz that both countries should be careful about protectionism in trade and look at the issue of manufacturing capacity in a fair way, according to a statement.

The leader of Germany’s visit has shown that there are problems with trade between Europe, the United States, and China. They say China is not playing fair in trade and is using subsidies to make a lot of products, like solar panels and electric cars, which is causing tension.

The EU is thinking about charging fees on Chinese electric vehicles to help European producers. Some people are worried that too many cheap Chinese electric vehicles will come into the European market.

Scholz met with the Chinese Premier Li Qiang to ask for German companies in China to have better access to the market, fair competition, protection for their ideas, and a fair legal system.

“He said that these companies need the right conditions to keep going. ”

Despite some problems between them, China was Germany’s number one trading partner for the eighth year in a row in 2023. They exchanged 254. 1 billion euros ($271 billion) worth of goods and services, which was a little more than what Germany traded with the US. However, this was a 15. 5% decrease from the previous year.

This is Scholz’s second time visiting China since he became chancellor in late 2021. This is his first visit since the German government showed its plan for China last year, which China didn’t like. Li, the leader of China, went to Berlin in June.