German chancellor, Chinese president discuss Russian war in Ukraine

BERLIN

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the Russian war in Ukraine during a video conference on Monday, a German government spokesman said.

“The topic of the conversation was also the Russian attack on Ukraine and its effects on global food supply and energy security, among other things,” said Steffen Hebestreit.

“The federal chancellor and President Xi also discussed the development and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, intensified cooperation on climate protection, the energy transformation and EU-China relations,” he added.

German political leaders have repeatedly complained that Xi himself is not using his influence over Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring about an end to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

During his first trip as chancellor to Asia, Scholz visited Japan at the end of April, avoiding China, which had maintained good relations with his predecessor, Angela Merkel.

While there were already signs of a course shift when the government changed in Berlin, the Ukraine war and German disappointment about China’s support for Putin led to a further reassessment of relations with Beijing.

Since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24, China has been giving Putin political backing, emphasizing its "strategic partnership" with Moscow and portraying the US and the eastward expansion of NATO as the main causes of the conflict.

Beijing has also sharply criticized the EU’s tough sanction policy towards Moscow.