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GUANGZHOU, China — France and China have reached an agreement to work together to deepen military cooperation, as President Emmanuel Macron’s trip to China draws to an end with a joint call for peace in Ukraine.
According to a joint statement issued by the governments of Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the Southern Theater of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army — chiefly responsible for the South China Sea — will “deepen the dialogue” with Asia-Pacific command of the French forces. The pledge comes amid heightened tension between U.S. and Chinese forces in the Pacific.
On Ukraine, the statement said: “Both sides support all efforts to restore peace in Ukraine on the basis of international law and the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.”
It called on Russia to ensure the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities. China and France “oppose armed attacks on nuclear power plants and other peaceful nuclear facilities” and support the International Atomic Energy Agency in ensuring “the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhia plant,” the statement said.
They also called on “all parties to the conflict” to “scrupulously observe international humanitarian law.”
Clea Caulcutt reported from Guangzhou, Stuart Lau reported from Brussels.
