SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on an official visit on November 4, 2022. (Photo: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Twitter)
Chinese, German Leaders Condemn 'Irresponsible and Dangerous' Russian Nuclear Threats
Chinese President Xi Jinping said during an official state visit to Beijing by German Chancellor Olaf that both leaders "jointly oppose the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons."
Nov 04, 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's previous threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine as "irresponsible and dangerous," while calling on the international community to work together to prevent nuclear war.
Chinese and international media report Xi said during an official state visit by Scholz to Beijing that both leaders "jointly oppose the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons."
Xi also asked Germany and all of Europe to "play an important part in calling for peace and facilitating negotiations" to end the 254-day Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Notably, the Chinese leader--who recently secured a third term in power and who once called Putin his "best friend"--did not say Russia should withdraw from Ukraine.
Scholz, meanwhile, said Russia risks "crossing a line" if it uses nuclear weapons--something Putin recently said he has ruled out after warning for months that his country reserved the right to wage nuclear war if its "territorial integrity" is threatened.
Disarmament campaigners welcomed the leaders' remarks. Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, noted in a statement that "by calling on all countries to oppose the use of and threats to use nuclear weapons, President Xi is endorsing key parts of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons," a pact ratified by scores of nations--but none of the world's nine nuclear powers, including China.
Yu Jie, a senior China research fellow at Chatham House in London, told the Financial Times that Xi's declaration was unsurprising.
"It is in line with China's long-term nuclear and disarmament policies," she explained. "If there is one thing to make Xi change his stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it would be the looming potential of deploying nuclear weapons from Moscow."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's previous threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine as "irresponsible and dangerous," while calling on the international community to work together to prevent nuclear war.
Chinese and international media report Xi said during an official state visit by Scholz to Beijing that both leaders "jointly oppose the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons."
Xi also asked Germany and all of Europe to "play an important part in calling for peace and facilitating negotiations" to end the 254-day Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Notably, the Chinese leader--who recently secured a third term in power and who once called Putin his "best friend"--did not say Russia should withdraw from Ukraine.
Scholz, meanwhile, said Russia risks "crossing a line" if it uses nuclear weapons--something Putin recently said he has ruled out after warning for months that his country reserved the right to wage nuclear war if its "territorial integrity" is threatened.
Disarmament campaigners welcomed the leaders' remarks. Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, noted in a statement that "by calling on all countries to oppose the use of and threats to use nuclear weapons, President Xi is endorsing key parts of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons," a pact ratified by scores of nations--but none of the world's nine nuclear powers, including China.
Yu Jie, a senior China research fellow at Chatham House in London, told the Financial Times that Xi's declaration was unsurprising.
"It is in line with China's long-term nuclear and disarmament policies," she explained. "If there is one thing to make Xi change his stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it would be the looming potential of deploying nuclear weapons from Moscow."
Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's previous threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine as "irresponsible and dangerous," while calling on the international community to work together to prevent nuclear war.
Chinese and international media report Xi said during an official state visit by Scholz to Beijing that both leaders "jointly oppose the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons."
Xi also asked Germany and all of Europe to "play an important part in calling for peace and facilitating negotiations" to end the 254-day Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Notably, the Chinese leader--who recently secured a third term in power and who once called Putin his "best friend"--did not say Russia should withdraw from Ukraine.
Scholz, meanwhile, said Russia risks "crossing a line" if it uses nuclear weapons--something Putin recently said he has ruled out after warning for months that his country reserved the right to wage nuclear war if its "territorial integrity" is threatened.
Disarmament campaigners welcomed the leaders' remarks. Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, noted in a statement that "by calling on all countries to oppose the use of and threats to use nuclear weapons, President Xi is endorsing key parts of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons," a pact ratified by scores of nations--but none of the world's nine nuclear powers, including China.
Yu Jie, a senior China research fellow at Chatham House in London, told the Financial Times that Xi's declaration was unsurprising.
"It is in line with China's long-term nuclear and disarmament policies," she explained. "If there is one thing to make Xi change his stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it would be the looming potential of deploying nuclear weapons from Moscow."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.