As the newspaper noted, the French president "doubts the true intentions of his interlocutor," because he does not really know "which side China can take"PARIS, April 7.
/tass/. The visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to China did not lead to a change in Beijing's position on the Ukrainian conflict and Russia. This was reported on Friday by the newspaper Le Monde.
On Thursday, the French president tried to convince his Chinese counterpart to "bring Russia to its senses," but Chinese President Xi Jinping "did not violate Beijing's goodwill towards Moscow," the publication says about the results of the talks between the two leaders.
According to an unnamed French diplomat, the call of the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Qiang to the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin before the visit of the Western delegation and the headlines of Chinese newspapers about the deepening of ties between Moscow and Beijing became "a real cold shower." The newspaper writes that Macron "doubts the true intentions of his interlocutor," because he does not really know "which side China can take," especially after the French leader "did not get the Chinese leader to condemn the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin" to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
According to the publication, the "path of peace" that Macron is trying to pass "so far resembles a dead end." It draws attention to the fact that, despite the frank handshakes during the meeting, the Chinese leader "is content with only small steps," in particular, promising to talk with the President of Ukraine, but only when favorable conditions are created for this. Against this background, Macron, along with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, tried to convey their position to Xi Jinping that Russia's help would elevate China to the rank of "accomplice to aggression" and urged "not to supply Russia with anything that would help it in the conflict in Ukraine."
However, such statements, including von der Leyen's words that China's position on the Ukrainian conflict "will become a determining factor in future relations with the EU," caused only a negative reaction among Chinese functionaries. "The Ukrainian crisis is not a problem between China and the EU," the newspaper quoted the Chinese government as saying.
Former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, who is considered a great expert on China, who was also part of the delegation, told the newspaper that the current visit made it possible to emphasize the "privileged role" of Paris, which allows the French to "convey messages to Mr. Xi on behalf of Europe." He also expressed the opinion that the Chinese leader intends to "possibly" also "send messages" to Europe through France.
In addition, the newspaper drew attention to the fact that the Chinese president appealed to Europe to abandon the block thinking of the Cold War, emphasizing its isolated position from the United States. The publication also points to the presence of a warning in this context, voiced by Xi Jinping to the Eastern European states, which are "the closest allies of the United States" and "have tightened the tone towards Beijing after the start of the Ukrainian conflict."
