French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné on Monday called on China to send “very clear messages to Russia” on the war in Ukraine and defended the maintenance of strong economic relations with the Asian giant. “We expect China to send very clear messages to Russia,” declared the minister, pleading for “a balance of power favorable to Ukraine” during a press conference in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
Because “obviously, China plays a key role in independence, respect for international law, including the sovereignty of Ukraine,” he said. China, which presents itself as a neutral party, but whose relationship with Russia has deepened since the start of the conflict, advocates a political settlement to end the fighting. It is regularly called upon by Western countries to play a more active role in this conflict, using its influence over Moscow. “This war concerns the entire international community,” Stéphane Séjourné told his Chinese counterpart on Monday, who did not specifically mention the conflict in Ukraine in his introductory speech at the start of the press conference.
“Rebalancing”
“We are convinced that there will be no lasting peace if it is not negotiated with the Ukrainians,” added the French minister. “There will be no security for Europeans if there is no peace in accordance with international law.”
“It is therefore an essential issue for us, which is why France is determined to maintain a close dialogue with China,” underlined Stéphane Séjourné, visiting the Chinese capital for a day. The minister also mentioned the economic relationship: “it is not desirable to decouple from China”, that is to say to significantly reduce economic ties between the two countries, he said.
In recent months, several political leaders in Europe and the United States have spoken of this need to reduce their country’s dependence on the Asian giant, something the Chinese government says it is significantly opposed to. The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, however, pleaded on Monday for an “economic rebalancing”, because “our trade must also rest on a healthy and sustainable basis”.
Wang Yi said he “appreciated” that his counterpart rejected the idea of decoupling. “It is not possible to decouple from China, and decoupling from China is the biggest risk,” he said. “I believe that it has been proven, and it will be proven again, that China is an opportunity and not a risk for Europe. The two parties are partners and not rivals,” said the head of diplomacy. Chinese.
Resumption of trade
After his meeting with Wang Yi, the French minister was received at the People’s Palace by Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang. Speaking just before his meeting with the latter, he called on him to discuss “all of these global situations which are fracturing and dividing the world today. I am thinking of the situation in the Middle East, but also in Ukraine”.
“Our two countries have a long history and great civilization, especially a spirit of independence and autonomy,” praised Li Qiang. “This explains why China and France are naturally close.” Stéphane Séjourné’s visit is part of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and China, and in a context of resumption of face-to-face exchanges since the end of Covid. This is the second time in less than six months that a French foreign minister has visited China, following the visit last November of Stéphane Séjourné’s predecessor, Catherine Colonna.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited China in April 2023. Monday afternoon, Stéphane Séjourné participated in the launch of the exhibition “Versailles and the Forbidden City”, at the Forbidden City in Beijing, where the public, until the end of June, around sixty works of art and precious objects from the Palace of Versailles.
“This is the first time” that works from the Palace of Versailles have traveled to the Forbidden City in this way, Marie-Laure de Rochebrune, general curator of the Palace of Versailles, explained to AFP. Vases, porcelain objects, paintings, fans… The pieces presented, sometimes gifts exchanged between the French kings and the Chinese emperors of the time. They show “the privileged relations between China and France which were forged in the second half of the 17th century and which lasted until the end of the 18th century”, underlined Ms. de Rochebrune.