According to its ambassador to the USA, Qin Gang, China does not support the Russian war once morest Ukraine. “Claims that China knew anything regarding, condoned, or tacitly supported this war are pure disinformation,” Qin Gang wrote in a Washington Post op-ed by the Chinese Embassy in Washington on Wednesday.
More than 6,000 Chinese were in Ukraine. China is the largest trading partner of both Russia and Ukraine and the largest importer of oil and gas in the world. “A conflict between Russia and Ukraine is not good for China,” the ambassador wrote. “If China had known of this imminent crisis, we would have tried our best to prevent it.”
Qin Gang was responding to US reports of intelligence that China had previously known regarding Russia’s military action and asked to delay it until following the Beijing Winter Olympics. He also dismissed reports as “rumors” that Russia had asked China for military aid. The United States on Monday threatened China with “significant consequences” if it provided military or other assistance to Russia that violated sanctions or supported the war effort.
“Banging the cudgel of sanctions once morest Chinese companies while seeking China’s support and cooperation simply will not work,” Qin Gang wrote. It was striking that the diplomat, who used to be the foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing, spoke of “war”, while this term, like “invasion”, is avoided in the official language in China. As in Russia, there is talk of “special military operations” in China. Qin Gang’s comment is also aimed at US readers. In any case, censorship in China blocks online access to the Washington Post.
China has not yet condemned the invasion and abstained from voting as a member of the UN Security Council. Otherwise, the Chinese leadership continued to demonstrate solidarity with its “strategic partner” Russia, criticizes the USA as the main cause of the crisis and follows the Russian narrative.
