China's reaction to events in Ukraine will probably prove more important in the long run than the responses of the United States and the EU.
China's response has been typically low-key, but the country's leaders have provided quiet support for Russian intervention and resisted attempts by Washington and Brussels to isolate Moscow.
China's top newspaper, which is often used to set out the official line of senior leaders, has criticized the West for remaining locked in a "Cold War mentality" against Russia in a contest for influence over Ukraine.