Beijing canceled European Council President Charles Michel, after he planned to slam Russia’s “illegal war” in a pre-recorded speech at a high-level trade expo in Shanghai last week.
The EU chief’s speech at the China International Import Expo’s opening was set to be heavily critical of “Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine” and say that Europe is learning “important lessons” from it, according to Reuters, which first reported the incident.
Michel is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week on the sidelines of the G20 summit, POLITICO reported earlier.
In response to a question about the trade show fiasco, Michel’s spokesman confirmed the Reuters report: “President Michel was invited to address 5th Hongqiao Forum/CIIE in Shanghai. As requested by the Chinese authorities, we had indeed provided a pre-recorded message which was ultimately not shown. We have addressed this through the normal diplomatic channels.”
The expo also featured speeches made by Xi, managing director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva, director general of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the presidents of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Belarus.
