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Did China know that Russia would invade Ukraine?

Did China know that Russia would invade Ukraine? The answer to this question will affect Beijing’s reputation. China has denied reports that its officials have asked Russian officials to delay the invasion of Ukraine until after the Beijing Winter Olympics. Experts say this suggests Chinese leaders may have known an attack was coming, and such a discovery would damage China’s reputation in the West.

Did China know that Russia would invade Ukraine?

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin called The New York Times’ March 2 report “purely false information.” Citing a Western intelligence report, the newspaper said senior Chinese officials had told senior Russian officials in early February not to invade Ukraine until the end of the February 4-20 Olympics. The war started a week ago.

“This kind of remarks that divert attention and blame blame are very despicable,” Wang Wenbin said at a regular news conference on Thursday .

“The Ukrainian issue has evolved into the situation it is today, and the ins and outs are very clear. We all know what the crux is,” he said.

In Washington, Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy, ​​said the report’s “reports are unfounded speculation, intended to shirk responsibility and smear China.”

Sun Yun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said state leaders rarely tell each other in advance. Coming war, so the message between Russia and China would point to a special relationship.

“This is important because it shows the nature and depth of Sino-Russian relations,” Sun Yun said. “If China agrees with Russia’s aggression, then China is an accomplice. We cannot expect China to respond in a constructive manner.”

In the United States, which has harshly criticized the Russian aggression, State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter said Thursday that Moscow’s support The attackers will be on the “wrong side of history” and “the world has been watching which country is on Ukraine’s side.”

Sino-Russian relations have grown closer over the past year, but China this week positioned itself as the warring Russia and Russia A mediator between Ukraine, not Moscow’s supporters.

Andrew Small, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, an advocacy group for transatlantic cooperation, said China’s relationship with Russia remained a “very high priority.” The two countries, which competed with Washington during the Cold War, have realigned against the West in recent years.

Ma Anzhou said China may expect Russia to win quickly in Ukraine, as it has done in past wars.

“I don’t think that the sense that China was giving Russia a boost before this is going to go away is one of the areas where there’s a lot of collateral damage to China in different ways economically, especially their relationship with the rest of Europe, “He said.

Before the Olympics, China may at least have a sense of Russia’s plans for Ukraine, said Alexander Vuving, a professor at the Daniel Inoue Center for Asia-Pacific Security Studies in Hawaii, and urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay the attack to avoid Interfere with the Olympics.

Leaders in Beijing cannot easily influence Putin’s overall decision on whether to invade Ukraine, Wu Weng added.

“What China can do is convince Putin to postpone the attack until after the Olympics, and Putin has done that, so I think it’s realistic and shows a high level of cooperation between China and Russia,” he said.

Sunbal Razzaq

Sunbal Razzaq is the founder & CEO of Sunshine Tips.

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