BY DAYO ADESULU with Agency Report
Since the break out of the war between Russia and Ukraine last week Thursday, China has consistently maintained neutrality and even refused to vote at the United Nations meeting held early this week.
It’s however perceived that China is walking a very fine line, trying not to alienate key ally Russia, or vital trading patterns in the West as President Vladimir Putin wages a brutal war on neighbouring Ukraine.
China has long insisted that no country has the right to “interfere” inside another country’s borders. That’s large because Beijing isn’t willing to tolerate anyone’s interference in its own affairs — including over its human rights abuses.
That stance has made it hard for China to justify Russia’s clear interference inside Ukraine, as it also tries to avoid burning economic bridges with the West.
The longer the war drags on, the more Beijing is going to be dragged toward taking a stand, however. For example, two important Chinese development banks — which loan money for big infrastructure projects — announced Friday that they had decided to put their Russian lending on hold, implicitly supporting Western financial sanctions against Russia.
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Until the invasion, China was Ukraine’s biggest trading partner. China’s leadership is likely still trying to figure out what role the country should play in this crisis.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke this week with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Kuleba said the Chinese were ready to try to end the war through diplomacy.
While the Chinese haven’t committed to brokering talks between Ukraine and Russia, Wang said China looked forward to playing a role in an eventual ceasefire. For Beijing, that could be a real coup: Ending the violence and cutting a deal would earn it huge respect on the world stage, and make it look like a mature, constructive power.
CBS News
