“It’s extremely important that a major power such as China keeps on having dialogue with Russia and make sure that we can de-escalate as much as possible,” Stubb said.
Xi, for his part, expressed China’s “willingness to work with all parties concerned, including Finland, to continue to play an active role in promoting a peaceful resolution of the crisis,” according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Stubb and Xi previously had met 14 years ago, the Chinese leader noted in his welcome remarks before their meeting. They had met when Stubb was Finland’s foreign minister and Xi was China’s vice president.
China Finland (AP)
“I am willing to work together with you to guide both countries in strengthening strategic cooperation, …, and make a new contribution towards world peace and development” Xi said before the meeting.
Finland is one of the most active European providers of military and civilian aid to Ukraine, and joined Nato last year because of Russian invasion of Ukraine. The country of 5.6 million shares a land border of 1,340 kilometers with Russia. Stubb, upon getting elected, said Finland’s priorities include maintaining a hard line toward Moscow and Russia’s current leadership, strengthening security ties with the US and the need to help Ukraine both militarily and at a civilian level.
China on the other hand, has been criticized by the US and Nato for its support of Russia. Specifically, the US and Nato have called China an enabler of the war. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said China provides equipment, microelectronics and tools that are “enabling Russia to build the missiles, to build the bombs, to build the aircraft, to build the weapons they use to attack Ukraine.”
Yet, Beijing is increasingly also playing a role in mediation in some of the most contentious issues facing the world, as the country’s global footprint and economic power has grown, whether it’s the Russia-Ukraine war or the Israel-Hamas war.
The Finnish delegation included its environment and agriculture ministers, who signed agreements on water management, while China’s customs approved two Finnish poultry producers for import.
The two also discussed trade, a thorny issue as the European Union is planning to impose tariffs on Chinese built electric cars. The tariffs are under negotiation currently. Stubb said that China’s relationship with Russia “has a direct effect on China’s relationship with Europe,” he also said.
But he also expressed concern about tariffs, “My worry is that we’re going into a cycle of tariffs, of trade, escalation, etc, etc. We need to avoid that.”
Source link : https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/finland-china-north-korea-russia-ukraine-war-b2637954.html
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Publish date : 2024-10-30 04:10:00
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