BEIJING: French President Emmanuel Macron touched down on Wednesday in China, where he is expected to put pressure on his counterpart Xi Jinping to help secure a ceasefire in Ukraine and discuss trade relations. Macron, on a fourth state visit to China since taking office in 2017, landed in Beijing at around 5:10 pm.
"We are counting on China, like us a permanent member of the Security Council... to lean on Russia, so that Russia and, in particular, Vladimir Putin can finally agree to a ceasefire," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday. "China can play a crucial role in guiding Vladimir Putin's Russia to make the right decision," Barrot told French radio.
The French presidency said Macron will tell Xi that China must "refrain from providing any means, by any means, to Russia to continue the war". Macron's three-day visit follows a trip to Paris this week by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, who urged Europe to stand by Kyiv as US President Donald Trump pushes a plan to end the war. — AFP
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