The Ukraine war has put China in a bind.
As a friend of both Russia and Ukraine, China has no desire to pick a side. On the contrary, conventional Chinese wisdom dictates that, when two friends fight each other, the primary objective must be to end the conflict through mediation. While China’s balanced stance has aroused more than a little suspicion, it could end up hastening the end of the war — and easing tensions with the United States.
When the war began, Western observers highlighted China’s seemingly pro-Kremlin stance, reflected in Chinese officials’ refusal to use the word “invasion” to describe Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, their accusation that NATO’s actions pushed Russia-Ukraine tensions to the “breaking point,” and their criticism of Western sanctions. But Westerners paid less attention to China’s repeated calls for all countries to respect one another’s sovereignty and territorial integrity — a clear, if indirect, reproach of Russia — and provision of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.