EU expects China to help end russia-Ukraine war - European Council President

European Council President António Costa, during a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, expressed the EU's hope that China will help end the russia-Ukraine war.

The European Council's press service reported this.

Costa said that he had met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during which they discussed bilateral relations between the EU and China, as well as multilateral and global issues.

"I also raised the issue of russia's aggressive war against Ukraine. I expressed the EU's hope that China will help end this war. This war is an existential threat to the EU's security. The EU will continue to increase pressure on Russia," Costa said.

In addition, Costa expressed "deep concern" about China's expansion of export controls on critical raw materials and related goods and technologies. He said that he had called on the Chinese Premier to restore seamless, reliable and predictable supply chains as soon as possible.

He also stressed the need to achieve concrete progress in the follow-up to the EU-China summit, in particular to restore balance in trade and economic relations.

Among other things, the President of the European Council also stressed that the fight against climate change should remain a priority of the agenda.

As a reminder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that China is helping the aggressor state of russia, because, in his opinion, the PRC is not interested in Ukraine's victory and russia's defeat - it is not interested in a "weak russia".

China has responded to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's comments about the country's assistance to the aggressor state of russia, saying it is "working tirelessly to achieve a ceasefire." Meanwhile, Reuters, citing sources, reported that China's state-owned oil refineries have suspended purchases of russian crude oil delivered by sea. The move comes after new US sanctions on the aggressor state of russia.