The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Wednesday he was postponing a diplomatically sensitive trip to China this week after contracting COVID-19.
Borrell was expected to discuss Taiwan and the war in Ukraine with top Chinese foreign and defense officials during a three-day visit to Beijing starting Thursday.
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“I have tested positive for COVID-19 and therefore unfortunately will need to postpone my visit to China,” Borrell, 75, wrote on Twitter.
“I am feeling well and have no symptoms.”
The trip to China would have made Borrell the latest in a stream of high-ranking European officials to visit Beijing after it opened up from strict Covid rules last year.
French President Emmanuel Macron ruffled feathers of some Western allies by saying Europe should not follow US policy on Taiwan as he flew back from China last week.
A senior EU official said Borrell was looking to present the bloc’s united position and would push Beijing to use its influence over Russia to stop the war in Ukraine.
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