The president of France Emmanuel Macron, stated today Wednesday that China can play “important role” in the war in Ukraine because of its close relationship with Russia.

Speaking shortly after landing in Beijing, the French president pointed out that maintaining dialogue with China is essential and that Moscow cannot be allowed to have an exclusive dialogue with Beijing.

“We are hearing increasingly loud voices expressing a strong concern about the future of relations between the West and China that somehow lead to the conclusion that there is an inevitable spiral of rising tensions.” Macron said.

At the same time, he warned that anyone who supports Russia in the conflict in Ukraine is “accomplice”.

“We have decided from the beginning of the conflict to help the victim and we have also made it clear that anyone helping the aggressor would be complicit in the violation of international law.” he pointed out.

The French leader is making his first trip to China since 2019 and hopes to counter any sense of an “inevitable spiral” of tension between Beijing and the West.

Both Macron and von der Leyen have said they want to persuade China to use its influence with Russia to bring peace to Ukraine or at least prevent Beijing from directly supporting Moscow.