BRUSSELS: Top EU officials warned China’s leader Xi Jinping at a virtual summit on Friday that any attempt to aid Russia’s war in Ukraine could hurt business ties between the two economic superpowers.

The EU and US worry that Beijing’s failure to condemn the invasion means it could be willing to help the Kremlin sidestep the impact of sanctions or even supply hardware to aid the war effort.

“No European citizen would understand any support to Russia’s ability to wage war. Moreover, it would lead to a major reputational damage for China here in Europe,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said.

“The business sector is watching very closely the events and evaluating how countries are positioning themselves. This is a question of trust, of reliability and of course of decisions on long-term investments.” Von der Leyen insisted that “China has an influence on Russia and therefore we expect China to take its responsibility to end this war and that Russia comes back to a peaceful negotiations solution”.

The talks with President Xi — initially intended to focus on issues like trade and climate change — were overshadowed by Western fears of Chinese support for Moscow in its attack on Ukraine.

Chinese state media reported that Xi told the EU the two sides should “play a constructive role on China-EU relations and major issues concerning global peace and development, as well as provide some stabilising factors to a turbulent world”.

“We hope that the EU can form its own perception of China, pursue its own independent policy towards China,” Xi was reported to have said.

A Chinese foreign ministry official said after a first round of talks involving premier Li Keqiang that the two sides “agreed to work together to maintain peace, stability and prosperity in the world”.

Frozen trade pact

The EU’s relations with its largest trading partner had already been battered by tensions ahead of Moscow’s assault on Ukraine and the annual summit was skipped last year as ties frayed.

The exchange of tit-for-tat sanctions over the plight of China’s Uyghur minority, followed by Beijing’s trade coercion of EU-member Lithuania over Taiwan, soured the mood.

The downgrade in relations came surprisingly quickly after the EU and China secured the investment deal in late 2020 long sought by Germany.

Human rights concerns, and US pressure on the EU, sapped momentum, sowing distrust and sinking diplomatic ties.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2022