World News | China’s ambassador to the EU tries to distance Beijing from Moscow

washington [US]April 14 (ABC): According to the New York Times, Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the European Union, downplayed the Russia-China partnership and said relations between Beijing and Moscow had been “deliberately misinterpreted.”

In an hour-long interview ahead of the European diplomatic mission in Beijing, China’s ambassador to the European Union said critics had misunderstood China’s relationship with Russia and suggested their relationship might not be as limitless as their leaders once claimed.

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When Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Presidents Vladimir V. Putin and President Xi Jinping declared that there were “no limits” to their friendship, and Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong called the joint statement “nothing but rhetoric,” The New York Times reported.

According to the New York Times, he said China was not on Russia’s side in this war and that some people “deliberately misinterpret this because there are so-called ‘unlimited’ friendships or relationships”.

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The envoy said China had not provided Russia with military aid or acknowledged its efforts to annex Ukrainian territories, including Crimea and the Donbass.

He said Beijing did not condemn the invasion because it understood Russia’s assertion of a defensive war against a NATO aggression, and because his administration believed “the root causes are more complex than Western leaders say”.

Fu Ying said that it is irrelevant that President Xi did not call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. President Xi is very busy and the two countries have frequent low-level contacts. Western analysts have compared the lack of communication to the close contacts between Xi and Putin, including Xi’s visit to Moscow last month.

“I know people are paying attention to the presidential conference call,” Fu said. “President Xi’s failure to speak to Zelensky does not mean China is on Russia’s side on Ukraine.”

Fu urged Europe to develop more “strategic autonomy” rather than follow Washington’s lead.

He said Beijing did not condemn the invasion because it understood Russia’s assertion of a defensive war against a NATO aggression, and because his administration believed “the root causes are more complex than Western leaders say”.

EU leaders are struggling to balance their deep trade ties with China with pressure from hard-line U.S. policies, especially given China’s support for Russia since the war began. According to the New York Times, China has attempted to present itself as a mediator, insisting on respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity while agreeing with some of Moscow’s claims about the war.

The interview came ahead of a three-day trip to China on Wednesday by French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Fu insisted that the absence of a phone call was unimportant, Xi was busy and there were frequent low-level contacts between the two countries. Western analysts compared the lack of communication to the close contacts between Xi and Putin, including Xi’s visit to Moscow last month, The New York Times reported.

“I know people are paying attention to the presidential conference call,” Fu said. “President Xi’s failure to speak to Zelensky does not mean that China is siding with Russia on Ukraine.”

Fu Ying blasted Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken for saying in February that China was considering supplying Russia with lethal weapons. Fu Ying said that Blinken was “spreading lies on TV”. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)