China sought to distance itself from remarks by its envoy to France questioning the independence of ex-Soviet states that sparked a firestorm in Europe and undercut French efforts to enlist Beijing’s help in pushing for peace in Ukraine.
(Bloomberg) — China sought to distance itself from remarks by its envoy to France questioning the independence of ex-Soviet states that sparked a firestorm in Europe and undercut French efforts to enlist Beijing’s help in pushing for peace in Ukraine.
The comments by Ambassador Lu Shaye on LCI television were not a political declaration but rather “an expression of personal points of view” and shouldn’t be over-interpreted, the Chinese embassy in Paris said in a statement.
Lu told the broadcaster in an interview aired on Friday that former Soviet nations don’t have sovereign status as independent countries — a statement that ignored internationally recognized borders and caused anger in Europe, especially in Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The embassy said in a statement in French on its website that China’s position hasn’t changed, adding that it’s ready to contribute to a political solution to the war in Ukraine.
“China respects the status of the former Soviet republics as sovereign countries after the Soviet Union’s dissolution,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said earlier on Monday at a regular press briefing in Beijing.
Mao added that China has developed “friendly and cooperative bilateral relations” with the former Soviet nations since establishing diplomatic ties with them, adding that some media outlets are misrepresenting China’s position on Ukraine — though she didn’t name any. She also said the country stands by Lu.
Speaking on the sidelines of an offshore-wind summit in Belgium on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his solidarity with the countries in question, according to Agence France-Presse.
“It’s not a diplomat’s place to use this sort of language,” he was quoted as saying.
A French Foreign Ministry official told Lu in a long-scheduled meeting on Monday that the comments were unacceptable and called on him to ensure his public remarks reflect his country’s official positions.
The Chinese embassy had posted a transcript of the interview on its official WeChat account Monday morning, but by midday had removed it. Mao said she was unaware of the situation.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said they’d summon Chinese diplomats in their capitals to explain Lu’s remarks. Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell also called the comments “unacceptable.”
The ambassador appeared to contradict China’s official stance, which recognized the independence of the Baltic states in 1991. President Xi Jinping has also reaffirmed their status, writing before a visit to Kazakhstan last year that the two nations supported their “respective sovereignty.” He also cited Uzbekistan’s “independence” in another statement around the same time.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said in a speech in Shanghai that “China sees defending the authority of the United Nations and upholding the post-war international order as its solemn duty.” He added that his nation had suffered “among the heaviest casualties in the world” during World War II.
The controversy threatens to undermine Beijing’s efforts to be seen as a peacemaker for Russia’s war in Ukraine, especially given how much China has already touted its ties with Moscow.
Xi seemed to have been making inroads on the peace efforts. He held a visit earlier this month with Macron, who has pushed for a framework that could be used as a basis for future negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.
Brewing Tensions
Mao, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said China is “ready to facilitate” peace in Ukraine.
Tensions had been brewing between China and Eastern Europe before the ambassador’s remarks.
China-Lithuanian ties have been souring for a while, with Beijing imposing measures against the Baltic country’s goods after a dispute around the naming of a Taiwan trade office there. EU-initiated cases against China that are related to those restrictions are now with the World Trade Organization.
Last year, Latvia and Estonia also joined Lithuania in abandoning the so-called 16+1 eastern European framework with China, which once threatened to divide the European Union in its relations with the world’s second-biggest economy.
–With assistance from Colum Murphy and Jenny Che.
(Updates with French president comments starting in seventh paragraph.)
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