China is in the Ukraine war with Russia: President Xi sees a "wake-up call for the world"

Created: 06/22/2022Updated: 06/22/2022, 17:10

By: Sven Hauberg

In a video message, Xi Jinping addressed the participants of the BRICS economic summit.

© Yin Bogu/Xinhua/Imago

China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping describes the West's sanctions in the Ukraine crisis as a "boomerang".

Another step that shows how close China is to Russia.

Munich/Beijing - China's head of state and party leader Xi Jinping has once again blamed the eastward expansion of NATO for the escalation in the Ukraine conflict.

In a video message to the BRICS group's virtual economic summit on Wednesday (June 22), Xi said: "The crisis in Ukraine is once again a wake-up call for the world: the fetishism of positions of power, the expansion of military alliances and the pursuit of one's own Security at the expense of the security of other countries inevitably leads to a security dilemma.” Two world wars and the Cold War have shown “that hegemony, bloc politics and camp confrontation do not bring peace and security, but only lead to war and conflict,” Xi Jinping continued .

Xi also slammed Western sanctions as a "boomerang" and "double-edged sword."

In addition to China, Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa belong to the association of BRICS countries.

In his speech, Xi reiterated his call to "respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries."

However, he again avoided condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine or even speaking of a "war".

Instead, he called for "resolving differences and disputes between countries by peaceful means through dialogue and consultation."

In the past, China has repeatedly advocated a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict, but has never taken any concrete steps towards it.

The history of the People's Republic of China from 1949 to the present

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China in the Ukraine War: Will the "rock-solid" friendship with Russia last?

Rather, the government in Beijing sided with the Kremlin at the beginning of the Russian invasion, while always emphasizing its alleged neutrality in the war.

Just a few days ago, Xi pledged his support to Russian President Putin in a telephone call.

"China stands ready to continue supporting the Russian side on issues related to core interests and major concerns such as sovereignty and security, and to intensify strategic cooperation between the two countries," Xi said in the June 15 call with Putin.

Other top Chinese politicians have also recently underlined their friendship with Russia, such as Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who recently called his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov an "old friend".

However, experts disagree as to whether the "rock-solid" friendship between China and Russia will last.

"Russian-Chinese relations are not a lasting alliance, but rather a partnership without substance," believes Alina Polyakova from the Center for European Policy Analysis.

“Russia's disastrous war in Ukraine puts Beijing in a difficult position: its economic interests lie with the West, and Russia's status as a pariah state is not conducive to relations with the West.

poll of experts released Tuesday

.

Bonnie Glaser from the think tank German Marshal Fund sees it differently: "Although not all Chinese and Russian interests coincide, both Beijing and Moscow are striving to weaken the global hegemony of the USA and to change the international system in such a way that their common interests are better served.

This is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future," said Glaser in the

survey.