China to Russia: You're putting us in a tight spot
| Beijing
These are testing times for Chinese diplomats.聽
As they plot Beijing鈥檚 course through the international uproar over Russia鈥檚 intervention in聽Ukraine, they are torn between conflicting instincts.
On the one hand is a strong reluctance to stand with the West against Moscow 鈥� a strategic partner that never openly criticizes China. But on the other is the cardinal principle of Chinese foreign policy 鈥� noninterference in the internal affairs of other countries.聽
Beijing is not exactly fudging it: Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said plainly last Sunday, when the first reports of Russian armed intervention in Crimea were coming in, that 鈥渨e respect the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine.鈥澛�
But neither has China condemned Russia鈥檚 actions; officials here equivocate when they are invited to join the Western chorus of outrage.
鈥淐hina is uneasy,鈥� says Bonnie Glaser, an Asia specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. 鈥淭hey cannot endorse Russia鈥檚 actions, but they don鈥檛 want more tensions with Moscow so they are not emphasizing their differences.鈥�
It is easy to see why China is so insistent on the principle of noninterference: the government is worried about foreigners meddling in China鈥檚 own border provinces, such as Tibet and Xinjiang, where Beijing is unsure of local peoples loyalties.聽
Chinese leaders are especially displeased by the referendum that the Crimean parliament has called for March 16聽to choose whether the autonomous region should break away from Ukraine and join Russia.
鈥淭hat would be like Taiwan鈥檚 destiny being decided only by Taiwanese,鈥� says Jin Canrong, a professor of international studies at Renmin University in Beijing. That would be anathema to Beijing, which insists that Taiwan 鈥� a self-governing island 鈥� is an integral part of China.
鈥淐hina insists that Crimea鈥檚 fate should be decided by all Ukrainians,鈥� explains Professor Jin. 鈥淲e will not support a Russian occupation of Crimea.鈥�
鈥淐hina鈥檚 foremost priorities, the first things they think about when it comes to interference, are Tibet, Xinjiang, and Taiwan,鈥� adds Ms. Glaser. 鈥淭he idea of a part of China deciding whether it wanted to be separate is seen as very dangerous.鈥澛�
鈥淐hina always looks at these situations through the lens of how they could impact their own security down the road,鈥� she says.聽
That concern trumps the hard-line anti-Western rhetoric that some Chinese newspapers have adopted. Global Times, a nationalist tabloid owned by the ruling Communist Party, argued in an editorial this week that 鈥渂acking Russia is in China鈥檚 interests鈥� and that 鈥渨e shouldn鈥檛 disappoint Russia when it finds itself in a time of need鈥� because Moscow 鈥渉as been resisting the eastward trend of Western forces in Ukraine.鈥澛�
Though this does not seem to reflect government thinking, China has been ambiguous about its attitude to the interim government in Kiev. Asked聽on Monday聽whether Beijing recognized the new government, Mr. Qin said guardedly that 鈥渏udgment needs to be made based on the laws of Ukraine.鈥�
In a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that 鈥淐hina believes that Russia can coordinate with other parties to push for the political settlement of the issue,鈥� according to an account of the conversation published by the state-run news agency Xinhua. 鈥淐hina supports proposals and mediation efforts of the international community,鈥� Xi was quoted as saying.
China and Russia, two neighboring giants, have their differences but are usually on the same side in diplomatic battles at the United Nations Security Council, where both are permanent members, along with聽the United States, Britain, and France, giving them veto powers.聽
Russia has used its veto six times since 2007. On five of these occasions, Beijing has cast its own veto alongside Moscow. Tellingly, the only time that China broke with Russia came after Russian troops invaded Georgia in 2008.
鈥淐hina cannot embrace the Russian position but it doesn鈥檛 particularly want to side with the West either,鈥� says Glaser. 鈥淪o they are sitting on the fence.鈥�
Jin puts a more positive spin on his government鈥檚 predicament. 鈥淏ecause of Taiwan, China would very much hate to see the division of a nation,鈥� he explains, 鈥渂ut on the other hand China needs stable relations with Russia. We will try to balance these two considerations.鈥�
Testing diplomatic times indeed.
