China is an important partner for the EU but has lost the opportunity to mediate in the war — Vice-President of the European Commission
Josep Borrell noted that China has a great influence on Russia and can help stop the aggression against Ukraine but has lost the opportunity to play a mediator's role, as its "neutrality" was pro-Russian.
European Commission High Representative Josep Borrell stated this during today's discussion at the European Security and Defence Summit in Brussels, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
"This pair (Russia and China — ed.) is quite unbalanced: Russia has only 1% of global GDP, while China accounts for 20% of global GDP. China supports Russia, but so far, it has not provided Russia with military assistance. We have to be careful not to push Russia into China's hands," Borrell said.
High Representative said that China remains an important partner for the EU, with trade in goods and services amounting to about $2.7 billion a day. At the same time, China remains a competitor in the economy and an adversary in values for the EU.
"We live in a world of competition. China is becoming a global power because of its size and potential. The question is not how to stop China from this transformation, but how to convince China to use its power constructively, per international law," Borrell added.
