Many Chinese believe in the pro-Russian view shared by the state media. Not everyone unconditionally supports Putin’s military expedition to Ukraine.
The streets of Beijing show that the Chinese are closely following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Every interviewee has a view on why Russia is crushing its neighbor. The view is only very different from that in Europe.
36 years old Liu believes that Russia feels NATO is threatening its country.
– Russia has been bullied. I think it’s appropriate that it fights. It’s self-defense, Liu says.
Liu says he follows news from the Chinese media. Mainly from state television CCTV channels and China’s Tiktok, or Douyin.
– Putin loves and takes care of his people, he thinks.
China’s official media is drumming a strong anti-US message.
“NATO’s expansion to the east under U.S. leadership is the root cause of the crisis in Ukraine,” the columnist wrote Zhong Sheng In the People’s Daily. The magazine is practically the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party.
The article accused the United States of directing the war. “NATO has become a tool of U.S. dominance,” the author continued, accusing NATO of harassing Russia and initiating color revolutions.
The Chinese media has also spread Russia’s unfounded allegations that the United States would fund and develop biological weapons in Ukraine.
“Russia is at war with the West”
Comments defending Ukraine, in turn, are censored on social media. Nationalist trolls attack comments criticizing the Russian invasion.
Among other things, an expert advising the Chinese government Hu Wein the advice quickly wiped China off the internet when this suggested that China should distance itself from Russia.
Hu Wei, vice chairman of the Chinese government’s Center for Political Research, warned that China would be isolated from the rest of the world if it did not move away from Russia during good weather.
– In the current world situation, China can only move forward by protecting its own interests, choosing the lesser of two evils and taking Russia’s weight off its shoulders, Hu wrote to the United States and China USCNPM (switch to another service)in the Chinese-language online publication of the incubator.
According to Wang, the solution to the crisis in Ukraine should be sought among many countries. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as the EU and Ukraine, should be included.
– Ukraine is just a battlefield. Russia is not fighting Ukraine. It is fighting NATO, the United States and the EU. It’s fighting the West, Wang tells in Beijing.
Although the Chinese and Russian leaders jointly declared unlimited friendship between the two countries in February, Wang says China still has principles it does not violate.
– We have a core principle of inviolability of sovereignty. That’s a strong message, Wang says.
“No attack, but no self-defense”
In China, not everyone swallows the state’s message of supporting Russia.
On a Beijing street, a man had time to shout “Ukraine will win the war for sure.” before his companions would hastily pull him away from his arm.
42 years old Du Xiaomu says the pictures on Youtube touch him.
– Lots of small children, newborns trapped in the subway tunnel. It touched me. I wanted to help them, Du says. So he sent 150 euros to charity.
– Not through any government, he stresses.
Du follows the war on both Chinese news and Youtube. He says they get the exact opposite picture of the war. So Dun’s own opinion is also divided.
– We only see part of the truth in every media, he thinks.
Du watches a well-known war correspondent on Phoenix TV in China Lu Yuguangia. This is accompanied by Russian troops and has been reported in Mariupol, among other places.
Du Xiaomu says he supports China’s line that NATO expansion and bringing its missiles to the east is a threat to Russia. He also believes in Russia’s view of the danger of the pro-Russian population in eastern Ukraine.
– That’s why we can’t completely say this is an attack. But it’s also not just self-defense, he thinks.
“Putin stuck in Cold War”
China does not call Russia’s actions in Ukraine an attack. Still, it says it is defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised recently that Sino-Russian relations are moving in the right direction and intensifying.
Du wonders that all parties should take responsibility for the war.
– The threat experienced by Russia has not materialized, but it has still started to defend itself, so to speak. It should take responsibility for this, he thinks.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi on the other hand, he does not care about pro-Russian Ukrainians. Vladimir Putin in turn, is stuck in the Cold War model.
– Putin sees the world divided only west and east. I think the emphasis in the modern world is on collaboration and sharing. We need to develop together, Du thinks.
He wonders that Russia may lose the war because the United States is providing arms support to Ukraine.
“Russia will weaken”
30 year old Leng asks if we are going to tell his views correctly and not edit them. Doubts about the Western media are deep.
– Both sides are gambling with the fate of their people. They have no return. Russia will certainly weaken. In the long run, it might win, but at a hard price, he thinks.
Leng is concerned about the impact of the war on the economy.
– The economy around the world is in a terrible state. Now we have to sit down and find a solution and think about economic development, he ponders.
Russia is a small country for him and is still shrinking. Even the economy is only the size of China’s southern Guangdong province, maybe only the size of Jiangsu province, he thinks.
– Maybe Putin will retire soon. If he doesn’t win the war, Russia’s problems are really serious, he thinks.
Leng says China will continue to support Russia by buying gas and oil if the Russian economy collapses.
He hopes Ukraine will stay out of NATO.
– A small country is not strong. In such a situation, it is not worth choosing one. The geographical location makes the situation very sensitive, he thinks.
“Russia’s interests under threat”
The 39-year-old ** Dai ** follows news from Ukraine daily on the state TV channel CCTV and the network.
– There are many historical reasons for the war. Maybe Russia feels its security and interests are under threat, he speculates.
Dai says he has seen news of Ukrainians who have had to flee their homeland.
– Their situation is the worst, he says.
He praises China’s actions.
– China has demanded peace, he explains.
What do you think about the views of the people of Beijing on the war in Ukraine? You will be able to discuss the subject until 11 pm on Wednesday, April 6th.