BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping criticized sweeping sanctions against Russia in a virtual summit Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, while urging "maximum restraint" in Ukraine to avoid a humanitarian crisis.
The punitive measures by the U.S., the European Union, Japan and others will "affect global finance, energy, transportation and stability of supply chains," Xi said, as reported by China Central Television. Xi warned that dragging down a world economy already burdened by the coronavirus pandemic is "in no one's interest."