​European Council President Charles Michel said on Thursday he urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to use his influence with Russia to pressure it to abide by the UN Charter on Ukraine and end the war, Reuters and The Guardian reported.

Michel, who held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday as part of the first face-to-face meeting between the head of an EU institution and senior Chinese officials since the start of the pandemic, said he spoke for about three hours with the Chinese leader and discussed the situation in Ukraine “at length”.

Michel said he urged Xi to use his influence as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to persuade Russia to accept international law.

President Xi has made it very clear that China does not supply weapons to Russia,” Michel said, adding that the Chinese leader also said that “Russia’s nuclear threat is unacceptable and unresponsive.”

“I sincerely hope that the entire international community, including China, will use all possible means and tools to campaign to persuade the Kremlin and Russia to stop the war and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty,” Michel said.

In doing so, the EU is sending a message similar to that of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last month when he visited Beijing.

Michelle and Xi discussed Russia’s “unjustified and unprovoked war against Ukraine.”

Last month, Chinese authorities pulled the plug on Michel’s video address to a trade fair in Shanghai, with the EU leader using roughly the same language as today.

Although Michel’s message is in line with the EU’s position on Ukraine, ahead of the trip diplomats were worried that the president of the European Council might make a wrong move. EU diplomats also raised eyebrows over Michel’s decision to meet Xi alone without European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is responsible for shaping and implementing EU policy.

Xi told Michel that he hoped “EU institutions and member states will create an objective and honest perception of China,” according to state broadcaster CCTV.

“China will remain open to European companies and hopes that the EU can eliminate interference to provide Chinese companies with a fair and transparent business environment,” Xi told Michel.

Neither Xi nor CCTV clarified what he meant by the intervention.