At EU-China Summit, Xi Warned About World Economy, as von der Leyen Made Ridiculous, Insulting Ultimatum
April 3, 2022 (EIRNS)—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.” Then she adds, “Important issues remain,” namely: “China must: stop its unjustified trade measures against Lithuania; lift sanctions against the 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.” She made the same remarks in her joint press conference with EU Council President Charles Michel after the EU-China videoconference Summit. 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, China’s President Xi Jinping 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.
More importantly, he gave a clear warning of the effect of the U.S. and NATO (which is really the same as the EU) trying to bring the world together in a coalition aimed against Russia. “One should not take the wrong medicine, or focus on just one aspect of the issue without regard to the rest, or hold the entire world hostage, still less make ordinary people around the world suffer as a result,” Xi told the EU leaders.
“The more critical the situation, the greater the need to stay level-headed. The current global economic configuration is the result of longstanding efforts by all countries. It is an integral whole. Parties should cherish this outcome, and must not let the global economic system be disrupted at will, still less allow attempts to politicize or weaponize the world economy as a tool to serve one’s own agenda, as such attempts will trigger serious crises in global finance, trade, energy, technology, food, industrial and supply chains, among others. Many are worried that the current situation may wipe out the fruits of international economic cooperation gained through decades of efforts. Should the situation continue to worsen, it may take years, if not decades, to get things back on track. China and the EU need to commit themselves to keeping the situation under control, preventing spillover of the crisis, and, most importantly, keeping the system, rules and foundation of the world economy stable, in order to bolster public confidence. The two sides may carry out coordination and cooperation in this regard.”
But judging from von der Leyen’s “tweet” this “frank and open” discussion may well have been a discussion with the deaf, using the phrase of Sergey Lavrov.
