China’s envoy to the United Nations has inadvertently disparaged Russia’s military, countering U.S. criticism by claiming Moscow’s forces would be better positioned in Ukraine if they were being supported by China’s armed forces.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministries by email with requests for comment.
Why It Matters
The U.S. and its allies have accused China of fueling Russia’s war machine by continuing to ship goods such as electronics, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) parts and machine tools to Moscow.
Beijing maintains it is neutral on the conflict while actively suppressing anti-Russia criticism on Chinese social media and echoing Kremlin narratives that fault NATO expansion for President Vladimir Putin‘s unprovoked invasion. Meanwhile, bilateral trade between the “no-limits” partners has flourished, helping Russia weather lost business with the West.
What to Know
Representative Geng Shuang spoke during a Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Thursday, reiterating Beijing’s stated position it supports peace talks and a political solution to the nearly three-year-old war.
Responding to U.S. criticism earlier in the meeting, Geng chastised Washington for “peddling a false narrative to discredit and smear China” and to “advance its geopolitical strategy.”
Maxim Shipenkov/AFP via Getty
He cited Beijing’s stated support for “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries” and its role, along with Brazil’s, in launching the “Friends for Peace” group of nations last year.
Geng, addressing allegations that China is providing military support to its “no-limits” partner, then seemed to imply China’s military superiority over Russia. “Today, I can speak more bluntly. If China were really providing military support to Russia, the situation on the battlefield would no longer be what it is today.”
The U.S. has expanded its sanctions list to include Chinese individuals and entities involved in exporting dual-use civilian-military goods to Russia.
Last month, the European Union took similar action, sanctioning 54 individuals and 30 China-based organizations. The move followed European intelligence reports Chinese researchers helped develop a Russian long-range attack drone and that a Chinese factory was already producing UAVs for Moscow.
What People Are Saying
Collin Koh, a senior fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, wrote on X:
“Master Class 101 on how to mock your ‘no-limits’ partner’s impotence while accentuating your own sense of superiority.”
Ting Wu, deputy political counselor representing the U.S. at the Security Council meeting:
“Ukraine has fought brilliantly even as China, the second largest economy in the world, has backed Putin; as Iran, the biggest state sponsor of terror, has armed Russia with drones and missiles; and as North Korea, the most notorious nuclear-armed rogue state in the world, has supplied Russia with some 11,000 troops, missiles, and countless crates of ammunition and munitions.”
What’s Next
Donald Trump, set to be inaugurated on Monday as the 47th president of the United States, vowed during his campaign to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine before taking office.
His allies have since tempered those promises, and neither Moscow nor Kyiv have signaled they are ready to negotiate such an agreement.
