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Kawala Xie

China has called for “all stakeholders” to be involved in Ukraine peace talks and pledged to work with France against “unipolar hegemony”.
The commitment came on Tuesday during a phone call on Ukraine between Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
That same day US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, agreed on a partial ceasefire, halting strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
The US has been engaged in intensive diplomacy with Russia and Ukraine over the past month in an effort to reach an end to the three-year conflict.
But Trump’s rapprochement with Putin, who has shown no intention to cease control of occupied Ukrainian territory, has unsettled many in Europe who feel left out of negotiations that could undermine the continent’s security.
China has advocated for Europe’s role in the peace process, and many analysts say this could allow Beijing to improve relations with the continent as cracks open up in the transatlantic alliance.
In the phone call on Tuesday, Wang told Bonne that China was ready to work with Europe to continue to make efforts for peace.
“China has advocated resolving the crisis through dialogue and negotiation from the very beginning and welcomes all efforts towards a ceasefire,” Wang said.
“This process should respect the will of the parties concerned, should not be imposed by a third party, and should not only serve the interests of any one country.”
“China supports the achievement of a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties concerned, and believes that all parties and stakeholders should participate in the peace talks process in due course,” he added.


According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Bonne told Wang that France was willing to strengthen cooperation with China on Ukraine and looked forward to Beijing “playing an important role in reaching a just, stable and sustainable peace agreement”.
China has framed itself as a peacemaker in the Ukraine war. The country has sent a special envoy to Europe and worked with the Global South to promote peace talks in international settings. But those efforts have often met with scepticism due to its strong ties with Russia throughout the war.
China’s relations with the European Union have also been strained by trade disputes. The 27-member bloc slapped tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles last year. Beijing retaliated with trade investigations into a range of EU products, including imposing provisional tariffs on brandy from France.
Wang called for consultations to resolve the trade disputes with the bloc.
Bonne said France opposed trade wars and tariff wars and was willing to properly resolve economic and trade frictions with China.
Both the EU and France are in negotiations with China over their trade disputes, with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen recently softening her tone on trade tensions with China amid Trump’s tariff threats against the bloc.
During the call with Bonne, Wang also slammed “unipolar hegemony” in an apparent reference to the US.
“China is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with France … reject placing one country’s self-interest above the common interests of all nations and prevent the world from returning to the law of the jungle,” Wang said.
Bonne said France would work with China to “resist bloc confrontation”, according to the foreign ministry.
The Post reported in December that Macron was planning a trip to China this year. President Xi Jinping made a state visit to France last year.
China and the EU are planning high-level meetings this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Earlier this week, the Financial Times reported that Premier Li Qiang would travel to Brussels later this year to meet von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa for the occasion.


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China-France relations

Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) and French diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne (left) meet in Beijing in December. The two senior diplomats held a call on Tuesday to discuss the Ukraine war. Photo: Xinhua

Trump, Putin agree on partial Ukraine ceasefire. Kyiv wants details

Ukrainian servicemen fire a mortar towards Russian positions at an undisclosed location near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, on Sunday. Photo: 24th Mechanised Brigade of Ukrainian Armed Forces/AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin is said to have agreed with US President Donald Trump about a ‘huge upside’ if Russian-American relations were to improve. Photo: Kremlin via AP

Ukrainians search for drones in the sky over Kyiv. Photo: Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and first lady Olena Zelenska arriving in Helsinki, Finland on Tuesday. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via AFP

The call between the Russian and US leaders was their first known conversation since Ukraine agreed to support a US-backed month-long halt to fighting. File photo: AFP

A Ukrainian serviceman fires a M101 Howitzer towards Russian positions in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. Photo: AP

Ukraine’s forces are now in retreat in Russia’s Kursk region. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry via AP

The US must work with China on ‘deliverables’ if it wants Xi-Trump summit: analysts

US President Donald Trump has appeared eager to engage China in his second term, often boasting about his personal ties to President Xi Jinping. Photo: AP

China seeks a role in Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction

Ukrainian firefighters at a storehouse struck by a Russian attack in Chuhuiv, near Kharkiv, on Monday. Photo: Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on February 15. Photo: Xinhua

News

China

Diplomacy

China’s foreign minister pledges to work with France against ‘unipolar hegemony’ as Trump-Putin talks leave Europe out in the cold


China’s foreign minister pledges to work with France against ‘unipolar hegemony’ as Trump-Putin talks leave Europe out in the cold.
