"The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukrainian crisis. Xi Jinping emphasized that China's position on the Ukrainian crisis is to promote peace talks and political settlement", the statement said.

Xi Jinping stressed that efforts should be made now to avoid the expansion and intensification of conflicts, de-escalate the situation and create conditions for peace talks. This is in the interest of the international community, including Europe, he said.

"China is opposed to some people using normal trade between China and Russia to prevent conflicts and discredit China. China encourages and supports all efforts that contribute to the peaceful resolution of the crisis, and promotes the construction of a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture. China is willing to continue to play a constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis in its own way", the Chinese leader said.

• German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck urged China not to circumvent the European Union's sanctions against Russia to ban the supply of dual-use goods that could be used for the war against Ukraine.