The DragonBear alliance: How China has been parroting Russian justifications for Ukraine invasion

The Chinese language authorities has spent the final yr parroting Russia’s justifications for its invasion of Ukraine, together with spreading disinformation and echoing Kremlin critiques of NATO, because it offers rhetorical and political help to Russia.

The DragonBear alliance, because it has change into recognized, has reached some extent that prime world officers have known as out Beijing's stance. NATO Secretary-Common Jens Stoltenberg famous over the weekend that “China has not been capable of condemn the invasion.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned on Monday that “we're involved that China is contemplating supporting Russia’s warfare effort in Ukraine with deadly help.”

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In response, Chinese language International Affairs Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin mentioned america was “deflecting the blame and spreading disinformation.” China has tried to current itself as a peace mediator in Russia’s warfare in opposition to Ukraine whereas amplifying Kremlin narratives trying to justify the warfare and pointing the finger on the U.S.

“It's the U.S., not China, that has been pouring weapons into the battlefield. The U.S. is in no place to inform China what to do. We'd by no means stand for finger-pointing, and even coercion, and pressurizing from the U.S. on our relationships with Russia,” Wenbin mentioned. “On the Ukraine concern, China’s place boils all the way down to supporting talks for peace."

Wenbin additionally advised the U.S. performed a job in blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines — one thing China has repeatedly hinted at because it echoes allegations from the Kremlin. The U.S. has repeatedly denied taking part in any function, with the White Home calling it “completely false and full fiction.”

That is all a part of a protracted sample. Whereas claiming it stands for “peace” in Ukraine, the Chinese language authorities repeatedly blamed the U.S. for violence in Ukraine, variously blaming Western exuberance over the collapse of the Soviet Union in the course of the Chilly Struggle, NATO’s membership growth, and the U.S.'s provision of weaponry to Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese language chief Xi Jinping met at first of the Beijing Winter Olympics in early February 2022 to announce a broad strategic partnership “with out limits” amid Russia's navy buildup on Ukraine's border.

The New York Occasions reported that “a Western intelligence report mentioned senior Chinese language officers advised senior Russian officers in early February 2022 to not invade Ukraine earlier than the tip of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.” Wenbin known as this “faux information” and mentioned the “blame-shifting is despicable” as he pointed his finger at “the culprits of the disaster,” the U.S. and the West, and blamed them for “increasing NATO as much as Russia’s borders.”

The day earlier than Putin’s invasion, Chinese language International Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying mentioned: “When the U.S. drove 5 waves of NATO growth eastward all the best way to Russia’s doorstep ... did it ever take into consideration the implications of pushing a giant nation to the wall?”

As soon as the full-scale invasion launched, China fastidiously averted condemning Russia, and the U.S. criticized China for its "at the very least tacit approval" of Russia's invasion. China repeatedly echoed Russia’s language claiming the assault on Ukraine was only a “particular navy operation” and refusing to name it an “invasion.” Chinese language Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui mentioned in August 2022 that the U.S. was “the architect and most important instigator of the Ukrainian disaster.”

And Li Zhanshu, who was on the time the No. 3 official within the Chinese language Communist Occasion, visited Russia in September 2022 and declared, "The US and NATO are immediately pushing at Russia's doorstep. … It may be mentioned that Russia has been cornered. On this case, Russia is taking a counterattack as a way to safeguard the core pursuits of the nation."

The Russian authorities and media shops ramped up claims in March 2022 that the U.S. navy was working bioweapon analysis amenities in Ukraine, with Chinese language diplomats and propaganda shops additionally amplifying the story. The U.S. has persistently denied the baseless claims, and Russia has by no means supplied any proof. China’s then-Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang mentioned in Could 2022 that it's “naive” to ask why Xi wasn’t condemning Putin’s invasion. However he insisted: “China is a part of the answer. It’s not a part of the issue.”

Russian International Minister Sergey Lavrov traveled to China in March 2022 and met with Chinese language International Affairs Minister Wang Yi, who blamed the warfare in Ukraine partially on “gathered European safety contradictions" and "Chilly Struggle pondering." The Chinese language official additionally mentioned Moscow and Beijing are actually "extra decided" to construct their strategic partnership, even in the course of the Ukraine invasion.

China abstained from a United Nations Safety Council decision condemning the Russian invasion in late February 2022 (the Kremlin vetoed it), abstained from a U.N. Common Meeting vote in March 2022 condemning the invasion, voted in opposition to a U.N. Human Rights Council decision in Could 2022 calling for an impartial inquiry into Russian warfare crimes, voted in opposition to a World Well being Group decision in Could 2022 condemning Russia for making a well being emergency in Ukraine, and abstained from a U.N. Safety Council decision condemning Russia’s tried annexation of components of Ukraine in October 2022.

Putin and Xi spoke on the finish of December 2022, reaffirming their alliance. Regardless of claims by some that China was backing off of its embrace of Russia due to the best way the Ukraine invasion had completed, each leaders claimed their friendship was stronger than ever.

The Russian chief repeatedly touted the enduring “Russian-Chinese language strategic partnership” as he praised “Expensive Mr. Chairman” Xi and China’s financial help for Russia in the course of the warfare.

“Navy and military-technical cooperation, which contributes to making sure the safety of our nations and sustaining stability in key areas, occupies a particular place in the complete vary of Russian-Chinese language cooperation and our relationships,” Putin additionally mentioned. “We goal to strengthen cooperation between the armed forces of Russia and China.”

Xi known as Putin “my pricey buddy” and mentioned he was “very glad to see you once more.”

“Beneath our joint management, China-Russia complete partnership and strategic interplay within the new period is exhibiting maturity and resilience,” Xi mentioned. “Within the face of a tough and much from unambiguous worldwide state of affairs, we're able to construct up strategic cooperation with Russia.”