France’s Head of State Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen personally called on Beijing to influence Moscow to stop the Ukraine war. Whether the Europeans found an ear with China’s President Xi Jinping was still questionable immediately after the meetings on Thursday. At a joint press conference with Macron, Xi resorted to his usual choice of words without directly addressing Russia and urged „restraint from all political partners“. Peace talks must resume as soon as possible, Xi said. He stressed that attacks on civilians and civilian facilities must be ceased, and the use of nuclear weapons prevented. Xi thus followed the content of the 12-point peace plan presented by Beijing.