France's presidency said on Tuesday that it was crucial Paris and Beijing cooperated more closely to overcome the consequences of the war in Ukraine after Emmanuel Macron met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a summit in Indonesia.
France, along with its Western partners, has tried for several months to persuade countries that have not openly criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine to take a tougher stance and encourage Russia to change course.
Paris has in particular hoped that China would apply the necessary pressure on President Vladimir Putin, although there has been little sign of a change in the Chinese position.
"The president expressed his deep concern over the choice made by Russia to continue this war in Ukraine," the French presidency said in a statement after Macron and Xi met at the G20 leaders' summit.
"The consequences of this conflict go beyond Europe's borders and should be overcome with close cooperation between France and China," it said.
Macron's office said the two leaders had agreed it was urgent to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine and reaffirmed their position on preventing the use of nuclear weapons.
However, a Chinese summary of the talks made no mention of Ukraine until the final paragraph. It focused more on respecting each other's core interests and a call for France to provide a fairer, more just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies in France.
"President Xi made the point that China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is clear and consistent; China stands for ceasefire, cessation of the conflict and peace talks," the Chinese statement said, adding that China would continue to work in its way to play a constructive role.
(Reporting by John Irish and Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Richard Lough)
