Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at the Winter Olympics. Some analysts predicted Putin would not attack Ukraine until after the Games to preserve his relationship with Xi.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at the Winter Olympics. Some analysts predicted Putin would not attack Ukraine until after the Games to preserve his relationship with Xi.Credit:AP

Although China has not endorsed President Vladimir Putin’s recognition of independence of eastern Ukraine’s separatist areas or Putin’s decision to send Russian forces there,Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said China “called on parties to respect others’ legitimate security concerns.”

“All parties should work for peace instead of escalating the tension or hyping up the possibility of war,” Hua said,repeating the language China has consistently used to criticise the West during the crisis.

Hua did not describe Russia’s actions as an invasion or directly refer to the movement of Russian forces into Ukraine.

Advertisement
Loading

China’s ambassador to the UN,Zhang Jun,on Thursday urged all parties to exercise restraint. The Chinese embassy in Kyiv told Chinese citizens in Ukraine to stay at home but did not advise them to leave the country,as dozens of other countries did.

The Chinese yuan,seen as a safe haven in the widening conflict,rallied to a four-year high as major stock markets and currencies tumbled around the world.

“We believe that the door to a peaceful solution to the Ukraine issue is not fully shut,nor should it be shut,” Zhang said. “China has pointed out on many occasions that there is a complex historical context for the Ukraine issue and that the current situation is a result of the interplay of many factors”.

Putin’s march on democratic Ukraine – triggered by unsubstantiated claims of a “genocide” of Russian speakers in the east of the country – now threatens to turn from a “demilitarisation campaign” into an extended war. The Russian leader has urged Ukraine’s armed forces to lay down their arms,a call rejected by the Ukrainian government which has pledged to “defend itself and win”.

China and Russian ally Syria did not join calls from dozens of countries at a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday for it to immediately cease its Ukrainian offensive.

Beijing has been wrestling with how to handle the Ukraine crisis for weeks as the number of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border surged to more than 190,000 while itpromoted its Games under the banner of a peaceful “shared future”. Despite the new partnership between Putin and Xi,China remains wary of Russia gaining too much influence and protecting its energy interests in Central Asia.

Police and security personnel inspect the remains of a shell landed in a street in Kyiv.

Police and security personnel inspect the remains of a shell landed in a street in Kyiv.Credit:AFP

Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week said the sovereignty,independence and territorial integrity of every country should be safeguarded. “Ukraine is no exception,” he said.

Since then,his Foreign Ministry has been casting the US as a key instigator in the conflict while framing China as the responsible international leader. “The US has been sending weapons to Ukraine,heightening tensions,creating panic and even hyping up the possibility of warfare,” Hua said on Wednesday night.

“A key question here is what role the US,the culprit of current tensions surrounding Ukraine,has played. If someone keeps pouring oil on the flame while accusing others of not doing their best to put out the fire,such kind of behaviour is clearly irresponsible and immoral.”

Loading

On Thursday,Chinese state media outletHorizon News appeared to accidentally release official instructions on the coverage of the conflict banning unfavourable coverage of Russia. Across the board,Chinese state media have so far played down the invasion – a sign the government is still taking its time to decide how it will frame the conflict.

In remarks directed at Beijing,US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the meeting on Thursday that countries had “to get off the sidelines.”

“There is no middle ground here. Calling for both sides to de-escalate only gives Russia a pass. Russia is the aggressor here,” she said.

China inserted itself for the first time into European affairs in February after it joined Russia in calling for the expansion of NATO to be stopped. In the Olympic communiqué released by Putin and Xi at the opening ceremony both sides attacked NATO,the AUKUS submarine deal,Western governments and old alliances for meddling in their internal affairs. The two leaders said their partnership was now “superior to the Cold-War era”.

Bonnie Glaser,the director of the Asia Program at German Marshall Fund said on Twitter that “there is no way that China will urge Moscow to back down”.

Loading

The future of Taiwan is at the centre of how China responds to the conflict. Putin has spent weeks using Russian state media to argue the Ukrainian state should never have been created and that it was always a part of greater Russia. This is the same line that has been used by Beijing to justify its claim over neighbouring Taiwan,which has been governed separately for more than a century. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s claim and vows to “fight to the end” if it is attacked.

“Taiwan is not Ukraine,” China’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. “Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China. This is an indisputable legal and historical fact.”

Get a note directly from our foreigncorrespondentson what’s making headlines around the world.Sign up for the weeklyWhat in the World newsletter here.

License this article

Most Viewed in World

Loading