#OpinionArticle
Can China be trusted? As the Russia-Ukraine war shows, #Beijing often says one thing and does another
//The war in Ukraine helps to explain this paradox. Less than two months before Russia’s invasion, Chinese President #XiJinping told Ukraine President #VolodymyrZelensky that he attached “high importance to developing the Chinese-Ukrainian strategic partnership.” But only weeks later, Xi and his Russian counterpart, #VladimirPutin, declared that their countries’ budding alliance had “no limits.”
...There is debate regarding the extent to which Xi and other Chinese officials had advance knowledge of the invasion. If they did, that makes them complicit in aggressive war and ongoing Russian war crimes in Ukraine. It would also mean that claims of ignorance by Chinese officials are not to be trusted.
And if they didn’t have knowledge of the invasion, the Russians didn’t trust them enough to give forewarning. Either way, there’s distrust of China.
...According to reports, Russia has requested that China provide it with weapons to bolster the assault on Ukraine. It is unclear whether China will fulfil that request. Chinese writing on bomb fragments in destroyed Ukrainian hospitals and schools – favourite targetsof the Russians – would not be good for China’s reputation.//
Read the full article
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/03/23/can-china-be-trusted-as-the-russia-ukraine-war-shows-beijing-often-says-one-thing-and-does-another/
Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Mar23
#RussianInvasion #WarCrime #HumanitarianCrisis
Can China be trusted? As the Russia-Ukraine war shows, #Beijing often says one thing and does another
//The war in Ukraine helps to explain this paradox. Less than two months before Russia’s invasion, Chinese President #XiJinping told Ukraine President #VolodymyrZelensky that he attached “high importance to developing the Chinese-Ukrainian strategic partnership.” But only weeks later, Xi and his Russian counterpart, #VladimirPutin, declared that their countries’ budding alliance had “no limits.”
...There is debate regarding the extent to which Xi and other Chinese officials had advance knowledge of the invasion. If they did, that makes them complicit in aggressive war and ongoing Russian war crimes in Ukraine. It would also mean that claims of ignorance by Chinese officials are not to be trusted.
And if they didn’t have knowledge of the invasion, the Russians didn’t trust them enough to give forewarning. Either way, there’s distrust of China.
...According to reports, Russia has requested that China provide it with weapons to bolster the assault on Ukraine. It is unclear whether China will fulfil that request. Chinese writing on bomb fragments in destroyed Ukrainian hospitals and schools – favourite targetsof the Russians – would not be good for China’s reputation.//
Read the full article
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/03/23/can-china-be-trusted-as-the-russia-ukraine-war-shows-beijing-often-says-one-thing-and-does-another/
Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Mar23
#RussianInvasion #WarCrime #HumanitarianCrisis
Hong Kong Free Press HKFP
Can China be trusted? As the Russia-Ukraine war shows, Beijing often says one thing and does another
China’s rise over the last several decades, characterised by its expanding economic and military power, has been miraculous. But there is a paradox associated with that rise: as its power has incre…