China is friend to both Russia and Ukraine

Comments on Duan Xiaolin "Why the West is wrong about Beijing and Kiev", 22/09/2015

This post appears to be more balanced than those who are unduly concerned with the geopolitical development or its potential development following the Ukraine crisis. Notwithstanding that and irrespective the geopolitical implications of the Ukraine crisis, China has and will likely to continue to adopt a more neutral stance towards both Russia and Ukraine.

Undoubtedly Sino-Russia relations will be strategically more important to China due to the fact that Russia has far a greater international power status militarily, politically and economically than Ukraine and due to the fact China and Russia share a long border, while China and Ukraine does not have direct border relations. Russia is a strong military power and used to be a member of the G8 group. It has very strong military technologies and has abundant natural resources.

But that does not mean that China should forego its relations with Kiev. China can maintain a strong relation with both Russia and Ukraine. China can be friends to both countries. China’s ambiguous attitude in the wake of the Ukraine crisis reflects its balance act. This contrasts to the United States and its Western allies, imposing sanctions on Russia.

Despite the existence of some distrusts between Russia and China, a strong and good bilateral relation is important to both countries, particularly in the face of the containment of both countries by the US and some of its allies. In a mulit-polar world with the US unwilling to accept and share with another power or another rising power, that bilateral relation is likely to be cherished by both countries.