Just hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in eastern Ukraine, the United States accused Moscow and Beijing of uniting a “non-violent” world order.
The Ukraine-Russia crisis poses a serious threat to China in many ways.
Russia-China ties can be seen in the winter when Mr. Putin comes to Beijing as one of the few world leaders known to be present.
Unfortunately, Mr. Putin waited until the end of the Games to identify two separate Ukrainian states and send troops to support them.
In a public statement, the Chinese government called on all parties to end the conflict in Ukraine.
But now that Russia has left with such restraint, where will China leave its official status as an escalating conflict?
The Chinese government believes it cannot support a seemingly supportive war in Europe, but also wants to strengthen military and strategic ties with Moscow.
Ukraine is a major trading partner of China and Beijing may wish to maintain good relations with Kiev, but this may be difficult to maintain if properly coordinated with the government sending its troops to Ukraine.
There is also the possibility of returning from Western Europe to China if it is said to support Russia’s atrocities.
Changes in China’s foreign policy?
After all, the consistent denial of Chinese leaders is a matter of non-interference in internal affairs, and other countries should not interfere in their affairs.
Senior diplomat Liu Xiaoming reiterated that China has never “recognized diplomatic wars with other countries”, adding that it is committed to peace.
But last week, China surprisingly rejected a vote by the UN Security Council condemning Ukraine’s entry.
Some observers have said that Beijing will join Russia in voting against the move, but the fact that it has not been described as a “victory for the West” – and a sign of Beijing’s failure.
However, China is still a long way from criticizing the situation, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin refusing to call what was happening there.
There are also unconfirmed reports that Beijing was aware of the situation and did not see it consciously.
According to a report by the New York Times on anonymous US officials, the US has in recent months called on China to intervene and order Russia not to enter Ukraine.
Thus, the statement adds that officials later learned that Beijing had shared the information with Moscow, saying the United States was trying to sow disagreements and that China was not trying to undermine Russia’s plans.
A similar figure in Taiwan
The main concern for the Communist Party is that it may leave its people and their worldview.
For this reason, it is translatable and decisive to talk about the history and history of the Ukrainian state.
It didn’t take long for Taiwan to be involved.
The party considers the autonomous island to be a vicious state that the state must unite.
On Weibo, China’s Twitter channel, Chinese nationals used the Russian invasion of Ukraine to call on their country to continue with statements such as: “It’s a great opportunity to retake Taiwan now!”
When the Chinese government refused to impose sanctions on Russia in recent days, it realized that it could be treated the same way if it marched to seize Taiwan by force, in a bloodbath, costly.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press conference in Beijing that China has never considered sanctions the best way to deal with the crisis.
But if Chinese citizens began to unite the points with Russia’s intention to invade Ukraine and apply it to their country, it could raise the Chinese government’s definition of its existing borders.
Censorship and criticism on social media
Vladimir Putin says he is releasing Russian speakers inside Ukraine. What about the Mongols, Koreans, Kyrgyz, and the like who are now part of China? Especially the Beijing explosion, and if the Tibetans or the reformed Uyghurs want greater independence or independence?
To prevent this from happening, it is more important to Xi Jinping’s rule than anything else.
With that in mind, you only have to look at Chinese social media to see the way party journalists are moving the masses in the way they should look at Mr. Putin’s travels in Eastern Europe.
On Monday, the Beijing Daily joined a government that sent a statement from a Russian ambassador to Beijing, urging the country not to support the “neo-Nazi” government in Kyiv.
On social media, the statements of Ukraine and Russia are also heavily monitored.
Here’s a taste of the comments:
“Putin is amazing!”
“I support Russia, I oppose the United States. That’s what I mean.”
“America always wants to create chaos in the world!”
But there is still a lot of caution on China’s part.
It returned to the first announcement, where a Chinese ambassador in Kyiv began ordering Chinese citizens to wave Chinese flags on their cars, to help each other while “showing Chinese power”.
A few days into the war, that changed the urge for people “not to reveal your ID card or show any signs.”
Some speculate that the change is due to fears that the Chinese may be at risk, as news from Ukraine of the Communist Party urges Putin’s actions.
However, some critics still manage to make their voices heard.
Over the weekend, five prominent Chinese students wrote an open letter condemning Russia’s actions.
“This is an intervention. As the Chinese say, you can’t call a deer a horse,” said historian Xu Guoqi, according to a Reuters report. Hours after this letter was sent, it was removed by internet censors.
It is difficult to get an accurate idea of how many people in China are calling for peace when it is not known how many such sources have been investigated – and how many posters criticizing the United States have been raised.
A social media user writes: “I don’t understand why so many people support Russia and Putin. Should the intervention be considered fair? We should oppose any war!”
According to one source: “Putin is aware of Ukraine’s independence as separatist provinces that are interfering in foreign affairs.”
And here you have it. The last post is precisely the conclusion that Beijing does not want its people to come.
It is the core of the minefield to which the Chinese government is moving.
Asked whether the current situation in Ukraine is equally violent, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a press conference that “historical history is complex” and that the current situation is “caused by all sorts of things”.
There is great instability in Europe. Xi Jinping has great decisions to make about how his country will react to them.