Some Chinese politicians and businessmen harm Beijing by demanding anti-Russian measures.
Written by Lucas Leiroz, researcher in Social Sciences at the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; geopolitical consultant.
In its diplomatic tradition, China has been maintaining an absolutely sovereign foreign policy, marked by principles such as neutrality and pragmatism. This conduct has led Beijing to reach elevated levels of cooperation with Russia. The Chinese government remains neutral on the conflict in Ukraine and refuses to participate in any of the Western-imposed sanctions against Moscow. More than that, Sino-Russian bilateral cooperation appears to increase as the West tries to “isolate” Russia with its coercive measures.
However, some dissident forces in China want to change this scenario. Chinese officials, politicians and businessmen have been demanding changes in Beijing’s stance, urging the country to adopt sanctions against Russia and condemn the special military operation in Ukraine. Although this group represents an absolutely minority portion and is still incapable of provoking real changes in the national political structures, the fact reveals that the West has managed to influence some specific sectors of the Chinese society.
Critics of the Chinese stance over Ukraine, as expected, are political dissidents and opponents of Xi Jinping’s government, with pro-Western views on foreign policy and who advocate a diplomacy focused on removing Beijing from partnership with countries considered “authoritarian” or “anti-democratic” by Western powers. In pronouncements, these dissidents refer to the Russian operation as “invasion”, “war” or “military aggression”, ignoring the official and appropriate terminology used by both Moscow and Beijing.
Among academics, experts and journalists, anti-Russian engagement is also growing in China. Some authors in the country hold skeptical views about Sino-Russian cooperation and believe that Beijing should move away from Moscow in order to avoid being sanctioned by the West. This is the case, for example, of Hu Wei, vice-chairman of the Public Policy Research Center of the Counselor’s Office of the State Council, who recently published the article “Russian-Ukrainian War and China’s Choice”, arguing that China should interrupt its cooperation with Russia to prevent an escalation of the conflict.
“China should prevent the outbreak of world wars and nuclear wars and make irreplaceable contributions to world peace. As Putin has explicitly requested Russia’s strategic deterrent forces to enter a state of special combat readiness, the Russo-Ukrainian war may spiral out of control. A just cause attracts much support; an unjust one finds little. If Russia instigates a world war or even a nuclear war, it will surely risk the world’s turmoil. To demonstrate China’s role as a responsible major power, China not only cannot stand with Putin, but also should take concrete actions to prevent Putin’s possible adventures. China is the only country in the world with this capability, and it must give full play to this unique advantage. Putin’s departure from China’s support will most likely end the war, or at least not dare to escalate the war. As a result, China will surely win widespread international praise for maintaining world peace, which may help China prevent isolation but also find an opportunity to improve its relations with the United States and the West”, he says.
Among Chinese political dissidents living abroad, the situation is even more explicit. Wei Jingsheng, the US-based organizer of the Chinese Democracy movement and one of Xi’s most famous opponents, for example, has already made some statements emphasizing the need to defend Ukraine on the principles of “morality” and “justice”. He defends a realistic solution to the conflict, with Kiev ceding territories to Russia in order to end hostilities but makes it clear that he does not consider Russian action in the country legitimate.
Regarding the business sector, there are even more divergent positions and criticisms against the Chinese government’s stance. Some representatives of the Asian country’s private sector were not pleased by the commercial impact of the current crisis and chose to defend China’s adherence to Western measures as a way of preventing negative impacts on their business.
The social media company TikTok, for example, was one of the first to sanction Russia, banning many profiles promoting pro-Moscow material on the platform and stopping livestreaming activities by Russian users. The move came in response to Russian legislation banning the use of pro-Western propagandistic terms such as “invasion” and “war” to refer to the operation in Ukraine. Indeed, TikTok prioritized the interests of its western users and sanctioned Moscow without even trying to establish a constructive dialogue.
Some Chinese businessmen living abroad also stood out for joining an anti-Russian activism. This is the case of Wang Jixian, a Beijing-born businessman who founded an IT company in Odessa and became an anti-Russian blogger since the beginning of the special military operation. In his videos, Wang severely criticizes Moscow’s actions in Ukraine and the Xi government’s neutral stance towards the conflict. For his engagement, Wang has received strong support and encouragement on the part of the Western media.
In fact, these anti-Russian Chinese agents do not in any way defend the interests of their own country when they work against Moscow. As confirmed by the joint declaration, cooperation between Russia and China has no limits and will not be affected by the actions of some isolated sectarian individuals and groups without real political representation.
China, like any other country, has its internal problems and one of them is the existence of political tendencies in favor of foreign interests. However, these trends are restricted to a few specified sectors of Chinese society, where the process of westernization seems to have been accentuated. There is still no political force on the part of these groups to demand effective changes in the country, which ensures the stability of Russian-Chinese partnership.
However, what must be clear is that these groups are acting against China itself when they ask Beijing to take a stance against Russia. In no way could joining Western sanctions benefit China, which is considered an enemy by the West in the same way as Russia. Furthermore, taking a position would be disrespectful to the Asian country’s diplomatic tradition of not interfering in foreign affairs and valuing absolute neutrality.
China is doing the right thing when cooperating economically with Russia and remaining neutral about the conflict. And the activists who demand changes in this posture act – consciously or not – against Chinese interests.