China’s Ambassador to the E.U. Tries to Distance Beijing From Moscow
The ambassador, Fu Cong, said China was not on Russia’s side in the war in Ukraine. “‘No limit’ is nothing but rhetoric,” he said, referring to a statement from last year about the countries’ relationship.
In an hourlong interview ahead of a European diplomatic mission to Beijing, China’s ambassador to the European Union said that critics had misinterpreted his country’s relationship with Russia, and suggested their ties may not be as limitless as their leaders once declared.
Here are a few highlights of the interview:
- The ambassador downplayed Russia and China’s declaration of a “no limits” friendship last year.
Just three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine Presidents Vladimir V. Putin and Xi Jinping signed
a joint statement declaring “no limits” to their countries’ friendship. But Mr. Fu said China was not on Russia’s side on the war and that some people “deliberately misinterpret this because there’s the so-called ‘no limit’ friendship or relationship.”
He added, “‘No limit’ is nothing but rhetoric.”
Mr. Fu said that China had not provided military assistance to Russia, nor recognized its efforts to annex Ukrainian territories, including Crimea and the Donbas.
Beijing has not condemned the invasion, he said, because it understood Russia’s claims about a defensive war against NATO encroachment, and because his government believes “the root causes are more complicated” than Western leaders say.
- China will not provide arms for Russia to use in Ukraine now or in the future, the ambassador said.
Mr. Fu blasted Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken for
saying in February that China was considering providing Russia with lethal weapons. Mr. Blinken, Mr. Fu said, was spreading “lies on TV.”