German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on April 16 that he has asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to "put pressure" on Moscow to end its war in Ukraine, as "China's word carries weight in Russia."
Scholz met with Xi in Beijing on April 16 as part of a three-day visit to China. Scholz said before the meeting that he planned to discuss "how we can contribute more to a just peace in Ukraine."
The German chancellor said he asked Xi to "put pressure on Russia to ensure that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin finally abandons his insane campaign, withdraws his troops, and ends this terrible war."
The two leaders also agreed to "coordinate intensively and positively on promoting the hosting of a high-level conference in Switzerland and future international peace conferences," Scholz said, referring to the upcoming global peace summit in Lucerne.
Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua said Xi and Scholz had an "in-depth exchange of views," and Xi proposed four principles to resolve the war.
These principles included refraining "from selfish gains," working to "cool down the situation and not add fuel to the fire," creating "conditions for the restoration of peace," and reducing "the negative impact on the world economy."
Beijing has also maintained close ties with Moscow since February 2022. Ukraine and Europe have diplomatic channels with China open and repeatedly urged Beijing to use its influence over Moscow to help end the war.
Washington expressed concern to its allies about China's support for Russia on April 9, which led the Chinese Foreign Ministry to declare that Beijing and Moscow have the right to continue "normal cooperation."
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