Once-Hesitant China Lends Full Support to Russian Invasion of Ukraine as Anniversary Nears

Defense Minister Dong Jun of China reportedly declared that Beijing would “not change or abandon [its] established policy” in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine this week – a full-throated endorsement presenting a shift from the Communist Party’s prior attempts to remain “neutral” in the conflict.

The Russian state outlet RT reported that Dong made the remark during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Shoigu on Wednesday. Dong’s meeting with Shoigu marked his debut on the international stage, as communist dictator Xi Jinping appointed him to the position of defense minister on December 29. His predecessor, Li Shangfu, disappeared without explanation in August and subsequently lost his position in October, leaving China with no defense minister for two months. Li’s whereabouts, or why he disappeared, remain a mystery at press time.

Dong used his first prominent appearance as defense minister to endorse the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which approaches its second anniversary in late February.

“We have supported you on the Ukrainian issue despite the fact that the US and the EU continue to put pressure on the Chinese side,” RT quoted Dong as saying. Dong reportedly promised Shoigu that China “will not change or abandon [its] established policy course over this.”

RT added that Dong ranted against America, claiming, “The US is always targeting Russia and China, seeking to retain its hegemony around the globe.” Dong predicted that America’s alleged “hegemony” was “doomed to failure.”

Shoigu – a veteran of several high-profile power struggles within the Russian military apparatus – reportedly expressed satisfaction with Beijing’s support of Moscow, stating that their military collaboration was “developing steadily” and the countries were enjoying “close-productive cooperation.”

Russia and China are arguably each other’s closest allies, so their close military collaboration does not deviate from the tenor of their relationship in the past two years. Dong’s vocal support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however, does appear to mark a departure in the Communist Party’s previous attempts to present itself as a friend to both Moscow and Kyiv. It follows a meeting in Beijing between Foreign Ministry officials and the Ukrainian ambassador to China, Pavlo Riabikin, in which the latter effusively expressed support for China’s false claims over the nation of Taiwan and otherwise attempted to ingratiate Kyiv with the Russian partner state.

Notably, the English-language readout on Dong’s meeting with Shoigu published on Wednesday omitted any mention of Ukraine.

“As 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Russia, the two militaries should implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, firmly respond to global challenges,” the readout paraphrased Dong as saying, “constantly enhance strategic mutual trust, continuously expand practical cooperation, push the mil-to-mil relationship to a higher level, and play a greater role in deepening China-Russia comprehensive strategic coordination and maintaining global security and stability.”

Ukraine attempts to maintain friendly relations with China and is a formal member of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s global predatory loan program to erode the sovereignty of vulnerable nations. Riabikin, the Ukrainian ambassador to Beijing, reportedly told Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong on Monday, “Ukraine attaches great importance to developing relations with China and stays committed to the one-China principle.”

The “one-China principle” is China’s false claim that the Republic of China – the formal name for the sovereign state of Taiwan – does not exist and that Taiwan is a runaway province of China. In reality, Taiwan has never been ruled by a government headquartered in Beijing and is in no way administered by the Chinese Communist Party.

Sun, the Chinese vice foreign minister, told the Ukrainian envoy that “China and Ukraine should take a long-term view, respect each other and treat each other with sincerity to promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations.”

A week before that encounter, Ukrainian representatives at the United Nations defended China during its “universal periodic review” at the Human Rights Council. Despite China’s lengthy history of genocide, torture, forced disappearance, systematic infanticide, forced sterilization of women, live organ harvesting from political prisoners, and other atrocities, the Ukrainian representative at the event declared, “We commend China’s commitment to the promotion of humanity’s common values which embrace universal and inalienable human rights.”

Ukraine’s attempts to remain friendly with Beijing appeared to have made the Communist Party hesitant to fully endorse the Russian invasion in the past. In September 2022, following a meeting with Xi, Russian strongman Vladimir Putin publicly admitted that Xi had “concerns” about the invasion, which the Russian government euphemistically calls a “special military operation.”

“We highly appreciate the balanced position of our Chinese friends in connection with the Ukrainian crisis,” Putin said, according to the Kremlin. “We understand your questions and concerns in this regard. During today’s meeting, of course, we will explain in detail our position on this issue, although we have spoken about this before.”

Putin’s remarks were the first time any evidence of Chinese “concerns” about the invasion had surfaced.

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