China's Xi backs Macron call for global Olympic truce

China's President Xi Jingping on Monday called for a global truce during the Olympic Games in Paris this summer after the French president and the head of the European Commission urged him to use his influence on Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

President Emmanuel Macron is hosting the Chinese leader for his first visit to Europe in five years and held talks with him and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Paris as they sought to show a united front on issues ranging from trade to Ukraine.

China has strengthened trade and military ties with Russia in recent years as the U.S. and its allies imposed sanctions on both countries, especially on Moscow since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

China-Russian trade hit a record of $240.1 billion in 2023, up 26.3% from a year earlier, Chinese customs data shows. Chinese shipments to Russia jumped 46.9% in 2023 while imports from Russia rose 13%.

"The world today is far from being calm. As member of the United Nations Security Council and as a responsible country, China urges with France for a truce in the world during the Paris Olympic games," Xi said, speaking through an interpreter alongside Macron during a joint statement.

Suspending armed conflicts under an "Olympic truce" is a longstanding tradition, and Macron has said he would work towards achieving one when Paris hosts the Summer Games from July 26 to Aug. 11 and the Paralympic Games until the end of August.

French officials hope Xi's endorsement is a sign that he could use his influence to persuade Russia to reach a truce when President Vladimir Putin travels to China later this month.

Their hope is that a small truce could open the window to broader diplomacy.

"We wanted to explain the impact of this conflict on Europe's