BEIJING – A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman has refused to classify Russia’s attack as an “attack” during a news conference Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an attack on Ukraine earlier in the day, followed by explosions in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian troops say they are busy within their borders, and Ukrainian President Volodimyr Zelenskyy has described violence as an attack to destroy the country.
In just a few hours, leaders in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and beyond have denounced the Russian invasion.
China’s foreign minister, Hua Chunying, repeatedly asked reporters if he would call the Russian invasion an attack but repeatedly refused to give a yes or no answer.
Responding to another reporter, Hua appeared to express frustration with the question and said, “U.S. has been igniting a flame, blazing a fire, how does it want to put out the fire? ”
That is the official translation of his words in the Mandarin language.
Hua said Russia was a “great independent country” capable of taking action. He has repeatedly stated in Russian government statements about Ukraine, such as a complaint from the Moscow Defense Ministry that Russian troops will not attack Ukrainian cities.
On Thursday, explosions were heard in the cities of Odessa, Kharkiv and Mariupol, and there were reports of fatalities in other parts of the country. Officials said dozens of soldiers and a number of people had been killed since Thursday afternoon.
“China is closely monitoring the situation. What you see today is not what we wanted to see, ”said Hua. “We hope all parties can return to negotiations and negotiations.”
Later on Thursday, the Department said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Wang said China has always respected the sovereignty of each country, and that the Ukraine issue is complex, according to an official report.
Wang requested that the dialogue be used, but did not mention previous official lines from Beijing about the need for all parties to maintain self-control.
Earlier in the week, Putin officially recognized the independence of two separate regions in eastern Ukraine. The US and Europe have tried to prevent a series of sanctions against Russian citizens, financial institutions and private debtors.
But on Thursday began a long-running Russian offensive in Ukraine.
“China is clearly sympathetic to the views of the Russian people,” said Tong Zhao, chief of the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, based in Beijing.
“China thinks the rise of NATO and other threats from the US and NATO” ultimately led Russia to protect “its legitimate interests,” he said. “In other words, I think China feels that Russia feels compelled to do what it does.”
“Because Russia is now experiencing widespread condemnation and criticism around the world I think China wants to avoid being seen as part of this organization,” Zhao said.
But “when it comes to public statements China is very cautious,” he said. “It is difficult for China to openly support Russia’s conduct in view of China’s security and China-Taiwan relations.”
Beijing has repeatedly announced that it intends to reunite with Taiwan. The island off the coast of mainland China is democratic but is wanted by the People’s Republic of China.
Clashes erupted earlier this week, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussing Ukraine over the phone on Tuesday, according to official statements from the US and China.
The call follows the closure of the Beijing Winter Olympics on Sunday. Just before the opening ceremony in early February, Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
‘No borders’ in cooperation with Russia
After the meeting, the two leaders issued a lengthy statement that did not name Ukraine by name, but opposed the “further expansion” of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and said that there were “no borders” or “restricted areas” of cooperation between Russia and China. .
Zhao said China was unlikely to make significant changes to its status in Russia but would distance itself from the situation that Chinese experts had not studied in the area of strict information control.
Even later on Tuesday evening during Beijing, Wang Jisi, president of the Institute of International and Strategic Studies at Peking University, said, “China’s perception of the situation is that Russia’s military action is almost as close as Americans’].”
Wang was speaking on a rare trip to the U.S., as part of a live broadcast with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. of China Business and Economics Trustee.
“I think China is getting closer to Russia, and China-U.S. relations are deteriorating,” Wang said.