EU cannot trust China unless it seeks peace in Ukraine: EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell

BRUSSELS - European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said it would be hard for Europe to trust China if it did not try to find a political solution to the Ukraine crisis.

The comment was part of a speech that Mr Borrell had been

due to deliver to a think-tank in Beijing

on Friday, but he had to cancel his trip to China after catching Covid-19 and the prepared remarks were published on the EU’s website.

“It will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the European Union to maintain a relationship of trust with China, which I would like to see, if China does not contribute to the search for a political solution based on Russia’s withdrawal from the Ukrainian territory,” Mr Borrell said.

“Neutrality in the face of the violation of international law is not credible,” he said, adding an appeal for Chinese President Xi Jinping to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and for China to provide more humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people.

Mr Xi has met Russian President Vladimir Putin twice, but not spoken with Mr Zelensky since

Russia invaded Ukraine

in what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in February 2022.

China stated its opposition to attacks on civilians and on nuclear facilities in a position paper on Ukraine published in February, but it has refrained from openly criticising Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

Mr Borrell also said that the EU needs to diversify its value chains to reduce its dependency on China for raw materials.

He added that the increasing trade imbalances between the EU and China are “unsustainable” and called on Beijing to remove market access barriers. REUTERS