‘Cheap great power’: China takes advantage of US diplomacy in the Middle East

Singapore: Sitting next to the French president at the Elysee Palace, Xi Jinping was eager to convey his desire for international peace.

As Paris prepares to host the Olympic Games in two months, the Chinese president took up Emmanuel Macron’s call for a global truce during the fifteen days of competition.

“The world is far from calm,” he said, according to a transcript released by China after Monday’s remarks. China, “as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country” would work with France to advocate for the cessation of all fighting in all conflicts around the world during the Games.

Xi’s arrival in Europe, his first trip to the continent in five years, comes as Western governments make repeated calls for China to play a bigger role in ensuring peace in the Middle East and Ukraine by leveraging its influence with Iran and Russia.