TAIPEI — Chinese leader Xi Jinping delivered his most direct criticism of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine on Friday, warning the Russian president against resorting to nuclear weapons and calling on visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to push for peace talks. Xi’s warning comes just over a month after Putin threatened Ukraine with a nuclear attack, a sign of how far Ukrainian forces have shaken the Kremlin with their advances against invaders in the east. The international community, Xi said, should “jointly oppose the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons,” according to a statement carried by Xinhua, China’s state news agency. The world should also “uphold that nuclear weapons cannot be used, nuclear war cannot be waged, in order to avoid a nuclear crisis” in Europe or Asia, Xi added. The Chinese leader, who just weeks ago secured a third term in power, called on Germany and Europe to “play an important role in calling for peace and facilitating negotiations”. Xi also called for “improvement of the humanitarian situation” in crisis areas, especially during winter. But the Chinese leader, who before the war referred to Putin as his best friend, stopped short of asking Russia to withdraw, a key demand for Ukraine and its Western backers. He also made no mention of Putin’s refusal to honor a UN agreement to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports, with his prime minister advocating the export of Chinese grain to help ease the food crisis. In September, Putin publicly acknowledged for the first time that Xi had “questions” and “concerns” about the war. Shortly after the meeting between the leaders of China and Russia, Putin raised the alarm and raised the notion that nuclear weapons could be used. “To defend Russia and our people, we will undoubtedly use all the armed resources at our disposal,” Putin said. “This is not a bluff.” “We cannot afford further escalation,” China’s outgoing Premier Li Keqiang told a news conference. Referring to Soltz standing next to him, Lee said, “Both of us … we hope the crisis ends soon.”
Scholz wants business
Xi’s show of opposition to Putin’s nuclear threats was hailed as a major diplomatic victory by Scholz, who has faced weeks of criticism for leaning too closely toward Beijing. “We agreed that the threat of nuclear attacks is irresponsible and dangerous,” Scholz told reporters, referring to his meeting with Xi. “I told President Xi the importance of China exerting its influence on Russia.” Scholz brought with him a delegation of major businesses and also recently approved a deal from a Chinese state-owned company to acquire part of a terminal in the strategically important port of Hamburg. Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Great Hall in Beijing | Pool photo by Kay Nietfeld via Getty Images Indeed, during opening remarks at his meeting with Xi, Scholz again recalled his previous career as mayor of Hamburg while urging Xi to deepen trade ties with Germany, the EU’s largest economy. Scholz named few deliverables, other than an agreement for expatriates — not local Chinese — to make BioNTech coronavirus vaccines in China and promised cooperation on climate change and disease prevention.
Tension in Taiwan
Before closing the press conference without a single question from reporters, Scholz referred to the escalating tension in the Taiwan Strait. “Any change in Taiwan’s status quo can only be realized through mutual agreement and peacefully,” he said, adding that he also raised the issue of human rights violations against China’s Muslim minority in Xinjiang. Scholz referred to Beijing’s economic coercion against Lithuania when the Baltic country sought closer ties with Taiwan, saying: “It is also important to be clear: Economic measures against individual EU member states are aimed at the entire EU internal market and sanctions against EU MPs are also unacceptable to us.” While Scholz did not play the commercial focus of his trip, his Chinese host made sure to send a clear message to German businesses, which China sees as an important source of stability in otherwise shaky EU-China relations. “We remain ready to help Germany gain access to our market,” Premier Li told reporters at the press conference, calling for a “clear and stable” relationship with Germany. “We support a multipolar world, free trade and we want to meet our partner on an equal footing.”
