During China visit, German Chancellor said that Russia’s attack on Ukraine is a threat to global security.

BEIJING (AP) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine threatens global security, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who hosted him in Beijing on Tuesday, told China in a clear call to exert more pressure on its neighbor and close strategic partner to resolve the conflict. called upon.

According to German media reports, Scholz also told Xi in their meeting that there should be no threat of using nuclear weapons in the two-year-old war. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last month that he was prepared to use nuclear weapons if Russia’s sovereignty or independence was threatened, his latest threat since the invasion of Ukraine.

Scholz told Xi that the war against Ukraine affected Germany’s “core interests”, threatening to spill over into regional conflict and disrupting energy and global food supplies and other trade.

German media quoted Scholz as saying Russia’s actions “violate the principle of the UN Charter and the inviolability of national borders.”

China has refused to criticize the invasion and has maintained ties with Russia. While China says it is not sending military aid to Moscow, it has provided it an economic lifeline to help it deal with the West’s sanctions.

Beijing is also urging peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, presenting a proposal that says nothing about settling major territorial disputes between them and which has received a slow response from either countries or the international community. Despite this, China continues to insist that the UN Charter must be applied in international affairs and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, which is in clear contradiction with Russia’s military agenda.

China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying the two leaders discussed other Ukrainian issues. “China encourages and supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the crisis, and supports the timely convening of an international peace conference recognized by Russia and Ukraine with equal participation of all parties and impartial discussion of all peace options. Is.” Xi said.

“China is willing to maintain cooperation with all relevant parties, including Germany, in this regard,” Xi was quoted as saying.

Scholz called for fair competition in trade relations while warning about dumping and overproduction during a talk with college students on Monday in the financial hub of Shanghai, where German companies have large investments.

His journey underlines that trade tensions As the EU and other countries complain, China is competing unfairly through tariffs, intellectual property theft and political interference.

Scholz was scheduled to meet with Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Tuesday before returning to Berlin late in the evening.

Along with Russia, China is one of the five permanent veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, and a US intelligence report last week found Beijing has increased sales of equipment to Moscow To indirectly promote its war effort against Ukraine.

Berlin is also concerned about a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a self-ruled island 130 kilometers (80 miles) off China’s coast that Beijing claims.

Scholz told students in Shanghai that the borders “should not be moved by force.”

Emphasizing the importance of international institutions such as the World Trade Organization, he said, “We should not be afraid of our neighbors.”

Despite political and trade differences, China was Germany’s top trading partner for the eighth consecutive year in 2023, with goods and services worth 254.1 billion euros ($271 billion) exchanged between the two sides, surpassing Germany’s trade with the US. Was slightly higher than trade, but was 15.5. % contraction from last year.

This is Scholz’s second visit to China since becoming chancellor in late 2021. his last trip was in november 2022 And essentially it was a one-day trip as strict Covid restrictions were still in place at that time.

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