Interesting analysis by Hong Kong’s SCMP: China takes Russia’s side at UN
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post posted an interesting article on the 7th, “Ukraine crisis: the trouble for China in staying friends with 2 foes.” “Moscow and Beijing are drawing ever closer…China has walked a line between the two but attitudes are changing in Ukraine.” The SCMP reported that “Beijing has managed to walk a fine diplomatic line between the two, publicly calling for the crisis to be resolved through dialogue and largely reserving its criticism for the United States.”
This is due to “perceptions of China are changing among some in Ukraine.” China was the only country to join Russia in voting “no” during a UN Security Council session last month. Sergiy Gerasymchuk, deputy executive director of think tank Ukrainian Prism, told the SCMP that China “abstaining from supporting Russia at the international platforms such as the UN, and remaining a reliable trade partner of Ukraine would mean a balanced approach.”
China and Ukraine have strengthened their economic relations since diplomatic ties were established in 1992, with successive visits by former Chinese presidents Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao with promises of mutual “strategic partnership.” About 80 percent of China’s corn import is from Ukraine, and Ukraine was China’s largest corn supplier in 2019. In the same year, China overtook Russia as Ukraine’s largest trading partner.
In 2020, a cargo train line was opened between the two countries, and China has imported a large amount of military technology from Ukraine, which was inherited from the former Soviet Union. An incomplete hulk of an old Soviet aircraft carrier was bought from Ukraine in 1998, which became China’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.
Original article: https://www.jayupress.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=2182
