Not satisfied with the attempted pressure tactics the EU leaders tried to use with the Chinese President in the China-EU talks on April 1, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, continued them with a nasty “tweet” the same day. Noting that the two parties had “an open and frank exchange today at the Summit,” she says that “there must be respect for international and Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and that “China, as a Permanent member of the UN Security Council, has a special responsibility.” (https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1509882663716462600) Then she adds, “Important issues remain,” namely: “China must: stop its unjustified trade measures against Lithuania; lift sanctions against the MEPs [members of the European Parliament]; address global concerns on human and labor rights, especially in Xinjiang; and improve access and conditions for EU companies in its market.” (https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1509887202595160073) She made the same remarks in her joint press conference with EU Council President Charles Michel after the EU-China videoconference Summit. (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/e%20n/statement_22_2221) It’s unclear if these were also the comments she made during the discussion with China, which may have gone unreported; or an addition to the EU position after going back to the office and deciding that more must be said. But all of this is somewhat beyond the pale even for the hysterical von der Leyen.
During the course of his discussion with EU leaders, Xi had presented a four-point proposal for dealing with the Ukraine crisis: 1) promote peace talks; 2) prevent a humanitarian crisis on a bigger scale; 3) foster lasting peace in Europe and the Eurasian continent; and 4) prevent the regional conflict from magnifying to a larger arena.
