China¡¯s top diplomat set out on a three-nation trip Tuesday to persuade European leaders that they can do business with Beijing, even as the Chinese try to keep faith in their ¡°unlimited partnership¡± with a Russia that has plunged Europe into war.

But arriving in Berlin, Foreign Minister Qin Gang was quickly confronted about the war in Ukraine.

¡°Neutrality means taking the side of the aggressor, and that is why our guiding principle is to make it clear that we are on the side of the victim,¡± the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, declared at a joint news conference after they met. Beijing, she said, could be doing much more to help bring the war to an end.