The European Union on Saturday stressed that any future peace framework must fully reflect the positions of Ukraine and Europe, after EU leaders held talks with multiple counterparts and reviewed the 28-point peace plan proposed by the United States.
European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held talks with a number of Western leaders on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa, after which the EU issued a joint statement.
The statement said the preliminary 28-point draft plan put forward by the Trump administration contains several significant elements that could serve as a basis for future discussions, but still requires "additional work."
The statement made it clear the principle "that borders must not be changed by force."
Meanwhile, several countries voiced concern over suggestions in the draft that would restrict Ukraine's defense capabilities, arguing that such arrangements could undermine Ukraine's long-term security guarantees and expose it to greater risks ahead.
The statement further stressed that any provisions touching upon the EU or NATO structures must secure unanimous agreement from the EU member states and NATO allies respectively.
According to several European diplomats and officials familiar with the matter, many European countries are accelerating internal assessments and coordinating their positions on the U.S. 28-point plan.
Some states are also drafting alternative proposals to steer future peace efforts toward what Europe views as a sustainable direction.
European officials believe that any plan that fails to sufficiently incorporate Ukrainian and European positions will struggle to form a viable foundation for lasting peace.
At present, the EU is discussing the creation of a so-called compensation loan using frozen Russian state assets, with roughly 140 billion euros held in Belgium as the main source of funding.
Many diplomats said the related legal text is in the final stages of negotiation, and Europe aims to reach a conclusion next month to help prevent Ukraine from facing a funding shortfall early next year.
EU joint statement says US's Ukraine peace plan needs further work
EU joint statement says US's Ukraine peace plan needs further work
China's development has never been a "threat" to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference in Beijing on Friday.
Some Western media and think tanks are peddling so-called "China Shock 2.0," saying that "China is achieving fast development in high-tech sectors such as renewable energy and AI and relies on foreign markets to absorb its overcapacity, thus reducing the market share of developed countries and sending more serious shock waves to the global economy compared with the era of traditional manufacture industry," while there are foreign commentators saying that the "China Shock 2.0" argument ignores the genuine innovation occurring within the Chinese industrial ecosystem and that Chinese export is the exact booster of the global economy that is needed in the turbulent period and more indispensable than ever.
Commenting on that, Lin said: "From the world's factory to the world's market and innovation powerhouse, China's development is achieved through strong performance driven by innovation and brings tangible cooperation opportunities and space to the world. High-quality Chinese products represented by the 'old three' of textiles, furniture and home appliances have stabilized the global industrial and supply chain, lowered the living cost of global consumers and eased the inflationary pressure worldwide. China's green production capacity represented by the 'new three' of electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels has bridged the gap between supply and demand in global green development and bolstered the global energy transition and low-carbon development. Moreover, China's high-tech products represented by the 'new new three' of robots, AI and innovative drugs have broken high-tech barriers and monopoly and enabled people in more countries to access affordable new technologies," said the spokesman.
"Openness and cooperation bring about progress and win-win result. China's development has never been a 'threat' to anyone but the source of growth advancing common development of all countries. What really creates 'shocks' to the world has never been the innovation of Chinese companies and efficiency of Chinese industrial capacity, but protectionist moves of setting up barriers, decoupling and severing industrial and supply chains. China will stay committed to high-standard opening up, defend the multilateral trading system and provide more certainty and new impetus to the world economy with its own steady development," said Lin.
China's development never a threat: FM spokesman
