Ukraine’s conflict “sounded alarming to the people,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said on Wednesday (June 22), as China maintained neutrality while backing its alliance with Russia. China has refused to criticize Russia’s war in Ukraine or even call it an attack in honor of Moscow, and also criticizes US-led sanctions against Russia and accuses the West of offending Moscow.“The crisis in Ukraine has once again become a cultural nightmare. “Countries will end up in a security crisis if they rely on inconsistencies in their positions of power, increase military alliances, and seek their own security which harms others,” an Xinhua News Agency official quoted Xi as saying.
In another comment, Xi said the imposition of sanctions could serve as a “boomerang” and a “two-edged sword,” and that the international community would suffer “politics, machinery and equip” world economic trends and financial flows. Xi also said that China will try to reduce the damage caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, which is facing stricter policy of closure and segregation, in addition to the declining number of cases and growing economic costs. Rising foreign policy and the desire to dominate global markets have led to a slowdown in the US, Europe and elsewhere, including calls to replace Chinese suppliers and to reduce reliance on the Chinese economy.
Xi urged countries to work together on such issues, saying efforts to “build a small courtyard with high walls” did not matter to anyone. “Going back in history and trying to block other people’s roads will eventually block your own road,” he said. China has long opposed interference in the affairs of other provinces. Beijing has a difficult time justifying Moscow’s interference in Ukraine, but China also describes the imposition of international sanctions as a form of interference and basically opposes this, with the exception of very limited cases, such as Iran and North Korea. On the other hand, like Russia and Crimea, China has a claim in Taiwan and in the islands of the South and East China Seas that it would like to see fulfilled and finally legalized. As China continues to deploy paramilitary maritime vessels and fishing vessels, it is trying to “create facts” in rival areas that will strengthen its claims. Therefore, one would expect to have some unspoken recommendation in Beijing for Putin’s bold actions to seek control.
But Putin’s preferred official approach – the conduct of a referendum on the future of Crimea – is a disgrace to China. Beijing occupies autonomous regions within its known borders, especially Tibet and Xinjiang, where true plebiscites will not support the ongoing Chinese rule. In addition, the voting record clearly suggests that a referendum on Taiwan’s future will find the majority of people refusing to reconnect with the continent. So Beijing ended up sounding contradictory and ineffective. China withheld (as Russia closed down) a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Crimea referendum. Beijing has condemned all acts of violence, called for the maintenance of Ukraine’s integrity, and called on international financial institutions to support Ukraine’s struggling economy. This puts China on the side of Russia or the West.
However, China will benefit from the stand it has taken on this issue. First, Russia secedes, leaving China to benefit by refusing to participate in secession and to give Putin a diplomatic seat. Although Beijing has not officially refused to take part in Moscow’s sanctions, its coercive record suggests it will hesitate to punish Russians.
This is likely to increase their unity. China and Russia are closer to the Syrian conflict and Iran’s nuclear weapons development than the Western powers, and they may find it more comfortable to draw closer to each other in order to shape the outcome as they wish. . Beijing will be relieved to see the United States bound to problems far beyond the Asia-Pacific region. This may give Beijing the impression that it may desperately want its dispersed neighbors who rely on tangible signs of support from Washington.
Finally, while there will always be a natural tension between resource-poor, people-rich and wealthy Russia, which lacks population, it is now more likely than ever to fill critical vacancies in their arms of high technology. Chinese exports and Chinese demand for lower prices for natural gas and oil than has been provided from Russia. Despite the empathy it has expressed, it is possible that China feels better about suffering in Ukraine.
