In early February, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Shortly after the end of the top winter sports event, the invasion of Ukraine began.
Sebastian Heilman, a professor of Chinese politics and economics at the University of Trier, did not believe the sequel was a coincidence. China and Russia have a common enemy and that is the West. “It goes without saying that Beijing does not want to be involved in the conflict, which could paralyze Europe, China’s most important market.”
After the start of the war in Ukraine, China appears restrained and does not stand openly on the side of Russia. On the one hand, Beijing states that the sovereignty of all states, including Ukraine, must be respected, and on the other hand, it shows understanding for Russia’s security concerns.
“China does not want to be stigmatized like Russia”
At the same time, the international community is putting pressure on China to take a clear stand. Adam Ni, an analyst and expert on China, said the West had high expectations of the Chinese leadership: “China has limited influence over Russia’s actions in Ukraine. The West, on the other hand, overestimates Beijing’s potential and influence over those involved in the crisis. At the same time, I believe that China wants to stay away from what is happening in Ukraine so as not to be stigmatized, as is the case with Russia. “
According to Sebastian Heilman, the friendship between Russia and China ends where the economic interests of the two countries begin. Let us not forget, says the German professor, that China’s trade volume with the US and the EU is larger than that with Russia. The Chinese economy is dependent on US exports and imports of high technology. China could not be content with trade relations exclusively with Russia, concludes Sebastian Heilman.
DW – Eva Lambie-Smith, ARD Shanghai / Stefanos Georgakopoulos
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