Did China Side With Russia In The Ukraine War?

Hello friends.

 

During the war between Ukraine and Russia, Ukraine was supported by many international friends because it was the country that was attacked. For many, it is a victim because they are unfortunately located in a strategic position between Russia and the West.

As for Russia, it is condemned and strongly opposed by many countries around the world, but there are also countries that support Russia, in which attention must be paid to a special relationship, that is the relationship between Russia and China. So, a friend of Russia, how does China react to this war? Let's find out together.

The close relationship between China and Russia is increasingly evident in the diplomatic activities between the two countries. Most recently, during the Winter Olympics held in China, Putin became one of the few world leaders to attend the event. On opening day, China and Russia announced a "no-limits" partnership, they will work together on space, climate change, artificial intelligence and the internet.

 

Besides, Beijing will support Russia's position that "Ukraine should not join NATO", while Moscow opposes the independence of Taiwan. After Mr. Putin returned home, he publicly announced the recognition of the independence of the two disputed regions with Ukraine. At this time, the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine has encouraged people to put the Chinese flag on their cars to help them be safer, because the flag will help both Russians and Ukrainians recognize it is a Chinese car.

 

But surprisingly, China was overconfident because putting the flag on the car instead of keeping the Chinese people safe, it was more dangerous for them, and in less than 48 hours, the Chinese Embassy turned the car 180 degrees, calling on the people to keep their identities secret, stay away from the armed forces and military areas.

 

In addition, with the assessment of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine simpler than that of the US, if the US had encouraged people to return home and brought back diplomatic staff before the conflict occurred or Singapore advised citizens left Ukraine from February 13, Taiwan urged citizens not to come to Ukraine from February 16, the Chinese Embassy waited until the war broke out, until February 24 to register citizens to return home and the deadline is February 27, which is three days after Ukraine announced the closure of its airspace to all commercial flights.

 

Through this period, we can see that China and Russia are building a better relationship, and so is Ukraine, that's why China advises its people to put the Chinese flag on their cars and China also underestimated the conflict of the two countries, thinking that the West is just spreading fake news and the real situation is not so complicated, Mr. Putin will not start a war.

 

How did China react after the war broke out? The United States and its allies immediately condemned the war created by Russia, calling it an invasion. However, China is not like that, when reporters interviewed Ms. Hua Chunying, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, "Do you consider this an invasion?" the answer is "no answer at all".

 

And so far, China has not called this an invasion, instead, Ms. Hua Chunying said that "the US is the one who started this war". China's starting action is actually not difficult to understand because with its ingenuity, even though it is drawing closer to its relationship with Russia, China will still choose to remain neutral for its own sake.

 

Currently, China is Ukraine's largest trading partner, and Ukraine also plays a huge role in China's Belt and Road initiative. Especially in Europe, in 2021, China has also become the EU's largest trading partner despite significant political differences between the two sides.

 

In contrast, the China-Russia alliance brings significantly less benefits to China, according to data released by China Customs, the total value of China-Russia trade is approximately 147 billion USD, accounting for only 2.4% of China's total global trade value of $6.05 trillion in 2021.

 

As an economic superpower as well as a military power, China openly supporting Russia's war would seem like a loss-making option. So, at the United Nations Security Council, China did not sided with the international community and called Russia's military actions an invasion, but also did not veto it, China voted White. So far, however, China has partially complied with US sanctions against Russia by asking the State Bank to stop funding Russia's war efforts on Ukraine, otherwise China The countries that will lose major markets are the US and EU.

 

But besides that, China also knows how to seize the opportunity, while Germany canceled the 11 billion dollar gas pipeline with Russia, China jumped in to negotiate a large gas purchase contract yet ever, 50 billion cubic meters per year with a value of up to 640 billion dollars. This will help Russia have a stable and long-term source of income, limit its dependence on the European market, while Europe will face an energy crisis.

 

In addition, when the US and its allies embargo Russia from the SWIFT international payment system, it is very likely that Russia will cooperate with China to develop a different payment system and the fact that both countries already have its own payment system. And if it can, in the future the dollar will lose its position of power, the Chinese currency will become even stronger because countries dealing with the Chinese currency will be required to use their payment systems, no need to dollar anymore.

 

Overall, China is extremely clever, keeping its relations with the EU and the US, while increasingly deepening its relationship with Russia and especially reaping many economic benefits. Thus, haters say "China is crooked", but from a certain point of view, it's all for the benefit of their country. How do you see China? Let's discuss together.