What a country should protect are sovereignty and territorial integrity, Ukraine is no exception. A famous remark from Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, left the world to speculate the affirmation on China’s side over Russia.
When most countries like America imposed sanctions on Russia, Hua Chunying, China’s foreign ministry said America was making the situation worse by sending weapons to Ukraine. America’s support can heighten tensions, create panic, and even hype up the warfare. Ms Hua also added that America has made the tensions worse by expanding NATO.
China and Russia have signaled their strongest ties for 70 years. Mr. Putin came to Beijing during the Winter Olympic and validated the ties. Both agreed to be the true guarantors of genuine democracy while ridiculing countries that seek democratic standards. For the first time, China, together with Russia, opposed NATO’s further expansion. Then, China also support Mr. Putin’s demand for excluding Ukraine from the alliance.
For Russia, China has become its largest export market after the EU. Trade expands to a record $147bn or 35%. The economic ties have been fostered also since Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Although China has shown a great support to Russia, Mr. Xi suggested that Mr. Putin should not launch a full-scale war. China concerns that it will disrupt global trade in which China has thrived for a long time.
So far China has just let Russia do whatever it does. This is because sanctions burdened to Russia will only give little effect towards China. Yang Cheng from Shanghai International Studies University said that the West’s tendency in viewing China is on the side of Russia is dangerous. He also added that it could be colder than the cold war.
