The EU is not fully convinced of China’s neutral stance on the conflict in Ukraine, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said this in an interview with the South China Morning Post ahead of his visit to China.
According to Josep Borrell, the EU is “not fully convinced” that China is a neutral party in the Ukrainian conflict. He added that Ukraine was also concerned about the position of Beijing, which has never condemned the launch of the Russian special military operation.
“Frankly speaking, we in Europe are not fully convinced by China’s arguments that China has a neutral position in this conflict,” Borrel said.
He believes that “China can certainly do more, including participating in the ‘peace formula’ proposed by Ukraine,” and “there is still much to be done to convince Ukraine that China is not on Russia’s side.”
The diplomat said he understood why China was not taking the same stance as Europe, even despite warnings against supporting Russia’s position.
“We don’t expect China to take the same line as Europe. We know China’s calculations and limitations behind this conflict and their tendency to look at it through the prism of competing with the US,” Borrell said.