ASIA PACIFIC

‘Abrupt changes’: China caught in a bind over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Beijing has presented itself as a defender of sovereign independence. But its reluctance to denounce Moscow's aggression forces it into an awkward position.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping walk down the stairs as they arrive for a BRICS summit in Brasilia in November 2019. | REUTERS

By Chris Buckley
THE NEW YORK TIMES

Feb 26, 2022

As Russian troops have poured into Ukraine, officials in Beijing have fumed at any suggestion that they are betraying a core principle of Chinese foreign policy — that sovereignty is sacrosanct — in order to shield Moscow.

They will not even call it an invasion. "Russia’s operation” is one preferred description. The "current situation” is another. And China’s leader, Xi Jinping, said his position on the crisis is perfectly coherent.

"The abrupt changes in the eastern regions of Ukraine have been drawing the close attention of the international community,” Xi told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in a call Friday, according to an official Chinese summary.

‘Abrupt changes’: China caught in a bind over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Beijing has presented itself as a defender of sovereign independence. But its reluctance to denounce Moscow's aggression forces it into an awkward position.

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