China arming Russia would ‘significantly harm’ relationship with EU, von der Leyen warns in Beijing

Ursula von der Leyen reiterated on Thursday following meetings with President Xi Jinping that China providing military equipment to Russia would “significantly harm” its relationship with the European Union.

“I want to be very clear on that one, that arming the aggressor is a clear violation of international law. It’s the aggressor and he should never be armed. And this would indeed significantly harm the relationship between the European Union and China,” the European Commission President told reporters in Beijing. 

Von der Leyen held two meetings with Xi Jinping on Thursday, one held in a trilateral format with French President Emmanuel Macron and a separate one-on-one meeting. She also met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

“I did emphasise in our talks today that I stand firmly behind President Zelenskyy’s peace plan. I also welcomed some of the principles that have been put forward by China. This is notably the case on the issue of nuclear safety and risk reduction and China’s statement on the unacceptability of nuclear threats or the use of nuclear weapons,” she said afterward. 

She also urged Beijing to use its influence to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from acting on his recent threat to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

“China being a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council has a big responsibility to use its influence in a friendship that is built on decades with Russia. And we count on China to really exert also this responsibility and to be very clear in the messaging,” she said.

In an earlier press conference, Macron and Xi had called for peace talks to start as soon as possible, reiterating that nuclear weapons cannot be used and that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including nuclear power plants were to be avoided at all costs.

“The Russian aggression in Ukraine has dealt a blow to stability. I know I can count on you to bring back Russia to reason and everyone back to the negotiating table,” Macron also said to his counterpart.

A topic that was flagrantly avoided by both leaders during their joint statement was Taiwan, despite Beijing sending warships around the island on Thursday following a meeting in Los Angeles between Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

China considers Taiwan a breakaway province and has been ramping up the rhetoric in recent months, sparking fears it could gear up to use military force to forcefully reunite it with the mainland.

Von der Leyen confirmed that the topic was raised during her meetings with the Chinese leadership, when asked by Euronews.

“We all agree that stability in the Taiwan Strait is of paramount importance. We have a very clear interest in preserving this stability, the peace and the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. And therefore, nobody should unilaterally change the status quo by force in this region.

“The threat to or the use of force to change the status quo is unacceptable. And it is important that some of the tensions that might occur should be resolved through dialogue,” she said. 

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.