Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi reportedly told the EU that Beijing views a Russian defeat in Ukraine as unacceptable, fearing it would allow the US to concentrate on China. Despite China's official neutrality,

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union’s top diplomat that Beijing can’t accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine as this could allow the United States to turn its full attention to China,

China cannot afford for Russia to lose the war in Ukraine, Beijing’s foreign minister has said, in unguarded comments to European officials.

China spared major cognac producers Pernod Ricard, LVMH and Remy Cointreau from hefty duties on EU brandy on Friday, a rare bright spot at a time of trade tensions between Brussels and Beijing as the two sides row over tariffs on Chinese-made EVs.

The move comes as China’s foreign minister is touring Belgium, France and Germany in an effort to bolster ties with the bloc amid a trade spat with Washington.