Experts comment on the Ukraine crisis: China's position and interests on the Ukraine issue must be considered

On the issue of dealing with Ukraine, China clearly adheres to its own position and interests, and it is impossible to be blinded by lies such as the so-called international morality and international norms of the United States; the Chinese Government and people fully understand the historical and practical reasons for Russia's military dispatch, and at the same time, sincerely hope that Russia and Ukraine will end the war sooner or later and resolve the disputes between the two sides peacefully through negotiations and consultations.

Although this special Russian military operation will not be able to achieve all its strategic objectives, they will effectively block the pace of NATO's eastward expansion and thus reduce the pressure on China in the future, which is also a very important factor that China must consider when determining its position at this time.

The historical causes of the Ukrainian problem are complex

The world generally sees that the Development of the Ukrainian Problem to the present situation has extremely profound and cannot be ignored for historical reasons. It is undeniable that the region of Eastern Ukraine, where Russians are the majority, was historically part of Russia. It must be admitted that Ukraine was a country that emerged after the 1917 revolution in the Soviet Union.

Previously, in eastern Ukraine, and in particular, in the Donbass region, namely, the Just-recognized Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, Russia, had a very strong Russian character in terms of people's cultural heritage, way of thinking and living customs.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the historical feud between Ukraine and Russia recured, nationalist sentiment in Ukraine rose sharply, and ethnic Ukrainians in the western region were not only suspicious of ethnic Russians with strong attributes in the eastern region, but also in constant conflict. As the kiev authorities of the central government, they have not managed the relations between the east and the west.

A variety of historical and practical factors have led to a decline in the national identity of Ukraine in the six oblasts of eastern Ukraine that border and interact closely with Russia. Some ethnic Russians have a growing willingness to return to Russia with their land. Among them, the Crimean Peninsula and the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of the Donbass region are particularly prominent.

As we all know, in 2014, the political situation in Ukraine underwent major changes, which led to the outbreak of a full-scale crisis. The eastern regions of Ukraine, which they believe that they have suffered discrimination and cannot integrate into Ukraine, are not only more inclined to join Russia, but also want to receive Russian help and support. Since then, Russia has relied on the results of the Crimean "referendum" to reclaim territory that had indeed belonged to Russia in history.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economies of Russia and ukraine, which had just been established independently, were in a very difficult situation for a long time. However, in general, Russia's level of economic development and social security is better than ukraine's. Under the circumstance that the national conditions and economic disparities between Russia and Ukraine are getting wider and wider, it is precisely under such a political and economic background that the separatist sentiment in eastern Ukraine has further spread. Nationalist organizations and groups from russia have long been active in the Wudong region.

What people do not want to see is that for many years, the United States and Western countries, for the purpose of being hostile to Russia, have tried in every possible way to meddle in the internal affairs of the Ukrainian state, and even resorted to very despicable means to constantly create "color revolutions" in Ukraine, provoke and sabotage Relations between Ukraine and Russia, and spare no effort to try to win Ukraine into NATO and the European Union.

Although Russia, out of national security considerations, has made every effort to prevent this action and attempt, resulting in Ukraine being unable to join the treaty, the United States and some Western countries have long used this as bait to instigate Ukrainian ultra-nationalist forces and radical democrats to continuously increase anti-Russian hatred. In particular, in 2014, there were a number of vicious incidents in Ukraine that killed ethnic Russian residents, resulting in pro-Russian forces in two states in Donbass having to expose the ukrainian situation.

Facts have proved that the United States and some Western countries are the initiators of Ukraine's dilemma and chaos, and the real driver of the Ukrainian crisis. It can be said that the United States and NATO bear unshirkable historical responsibility for the intensification of Relations between Ukraine and Russia and the division of Ukraine.

In fact, as early as many years ago, Ukraine has fallen into the tragic situation of national fragmentation, and humanitarian crises and disasters have continued in the eastern region. In response, Russia, out of concern for its own security and concerns about the fate of its compatriots in its neighbors, intervened in many ways, leading to the current military deployment and special military operations.

It is worth noting that Russia's military action to invade Ukraine is not a temporary and impulsive move, not only to retaliate against the United States and Western countries, but a strategic decision made by Russia in response to the complex changes in the world pattern and surrounding environment.

The political trap set by the United States against China

What is ridiculous is that the United States, which has never paid any international morality to China to the world, has repeatedly talked to the Chinese side about "international morality" and "international norms" after Russia sent troops to Ukraine, demanding and forcing China to immediately take a stand at this time and stand on the stand of opposing Russia's troops in Ukraine.

U.S. White House press spokesman Psaki claimed that it is time for China to take a stand on the situation in Ukraine — the time to decide which side of history. To this end, Price also talked about "sovereignty issues" and asked China to "force Moscow to back down." Some US government officials also claimed that now, "China should advise Russia."

As we all know, in the modern history of mankind, China is one of the countries that have suffered the pain of losing power and humiliating the country; a hundred years ago, the Eight-Power Alliance jointly invaded China; at the end of the last century, a US-led NATO military group openly bombed the Chinese Embassy.

Now, the United States has raised some international moral theory, claiming that Russia's special military operation to invade Ukraine violates international morality and is an act of "invading sovereign states", and asks China to stand on the side of the "international community" and work with the United States and NATO to clearly oppose Russia's military operations to invade Ukraine. In China's view, it is both absurd and ridiculous. It is precisely because the Chinese government and people see the complex historical reasons for the existence of the Ukrainian issue that they understand the decision made by Russia.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said in a televised address to the world: Over the past 30 years, Russia has been persistent and tolerant, constantly trying to reach consensus with major NATO countries on equality and security in Europe. However, Russia's response is only the shameless deception, lies, or pressure and intimidation of the United States and the West, and nato under the leadership of the United States, ignoring Russia's national interests and legitimate concerns, continues to expand eastward, and now NATO's military machine has reached the Russian border.

People will not forget that at the end of the last century, NATO, without the authorization of the United Nations Security Council, brazenly carried out a bloody military operation against Belgrade in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, using a large number of aircraft and missiles, and indiscriminately bombing municipal facilities and infrastructure related to people's livelihood for weeks.

For years, the United States and its associates have violated international morals and international norms in Iraq, Libya, and Syria. Is the illegal use of force against Libya, the disregard and serious distortion of the UN Security Council resolutions on libya, the complete destruction of Libya, the subsequent descent into a breeding ground for international terrorism, and the descent into the abyss of humanitarian disasters and civil war?

The humanist catastrophe created by the United States in Libya has plunged millions of people, if not entire regions, into turmoil, with massive refugee flows from North Africa, the Middle East, and europe. The disaster created by the United States and some Western countries in Syria, without the consent of the Syrian government, and the authorization of the United Nations Security Council to use force against Syria, is this the "international morality" and "international norms" that the United States and NATO have slandered?

Facts have proved that as long as the United States and the West try to get involved in the establishment of "international morality" and "international order", there will inevitably be bloodshed and pain, and there will inevitably be humanitarian tragedy. Without asking the historical reasons, regardless of the truth and truth of the matter, without looking at the merits and demerits of the facts, on the issue of Russia's troops in Ukraine, it is a political trap set by the United States for the international community, and China will certainly not be deceived.

The current world pattern determines China's position

The world knows that in the world today, the United States insists on taking China as the biggest enemy for a long time, and Russia is the current and strongest enemy of the United States. Although China has said that it hopes to maintain normal and necessary state-to-state relations with the United States in the current era of economic globalization, the Biden administration in the United States has continued to deteriorate US-China relations and insisted on listing China as an enemy. It is precisely for this reason that NATO under the leadership of the United States has repeatedly co-opted and seduced Ukraine to provide military and economic support and assistance in an attempt to turn it into a military front against Russia.

In the long run, the eastward expansion of NATO led by the United States will target not only its real enemy, Russia, but also its future enemy, China, and other peace-loving countries and peoples in the world.

It can be said that the reality of today's world pattern determines that China will inevitably choose to stand with Russia and stand with other peace-loving countries and peoples in the world; at the same time, China sincerely hopes that Russia and Ukraine will end the war at an early date and that the two sides will properly resolve historical and current disputes by peaceful means through negotiation and consultation.

Chinese people do not want to see bloodshed and war in these two countries, and they are saddened by the ongoing incidents of war against civilians and by the humanitarian crisis arising from the war.

On February 25, 2022, after the launch of the Russian special military operation, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi clearly stated to the world China's basic position on the Ukrainian issue, the main views include:

China stands for respecting and safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and earnestly abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. This position is consistent and clear, and the same applies in the case of Ukraine.

China advocates a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept. It is believed that the security of one country cannot be at the expense of the security of other countries, and regional security cannot be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs. The Cold War mentality should be abandoned once and for all. The legitimate security concerns of States should be respected. In the case of NATO's five consecutive rounds of eastward expansion, Russia's legitimate demands on security should be taken seriously and properly resolved.

China has always been concerned about the evolution of the Ukrainian issue, and the current situation is something we do not want to see. It is imperative that all parties exercise the necessary restraint to avoid the situation in Ukraine from deteriorating or even spiraling out of control. The safety of civilian life and property should be effectively guaranteed, in particular to prevent large-scale humanitarian crises.

China supports and encourages all diplomatic efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. China welcomes the holding of direct dialogue and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine as soon as possible. The evolution of the Ukrainian question has a complex historical dimension. Ukraine should be a bridge between East and West, not a front for great power confrontation. China also supports the European side and Russia to hold dialogue on European security issues on an equal footing, uphold the concept of indivisibility of security, and ultimately form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism.

China believes that the UN Security Council should play a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine issue, focusing on regional peace and stability and the general security of all countries. The council's actions should cool tensions rather than add fuel to the fire and should be conducive to a diplomatic settlement rather than a further escalation of the situation. In view of this, China has always disapproved of the fact that Security Council resolutions often invoke Chapter VII authorizing the use of force and sanctions.

As Wang Yi said: As a permanent member of the Security Council and a responsible major country, China has always faithfully fulfilled its international obligations and played a constructive role in safeguarding world peace and stability. On the issue of peace and security, China is the largest country on record. We have never invaded other countries, never engaged in proxy wars, never sought spheres of influence, and never participated in confrontations with military groups. China adheres to the path of peaceful development and is committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind. China will continue to firmly oppose all hegemonic powers and firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the vast number of developing countries, especially small and medium-sized countries.