As the all-out Russia-Ukraine war intensifies by the day, China seems to have taken a “neutral position” by neither favouring nor opposing Moscow publicly in its actions against Kyiv. Public statements by Beijing officials have also remained ambiguous after China did not wholly rule out the possibility of being a mediator in the call for peace. However, while the Chinese mainland has maintained its strategic ambiguity, domestic media coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has painted a different picture, which mostly promotes Russia’s information over atrocities in Ukraine, CNN reported.
According to Chinese broadcaster CCTV, the Russian attack is nothing more than a “special military operation.” In addition, the broadcaster to 1.4 billion Chinese population also insinuated that Washington may be endowing bio-weapons program in Kyiv-based labs, despite US permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), Linda Thomas-Greenfield refuted such claims, saying that Russia is “lying and spreading misinformation.” Moreover, CCTV has branded Russian President Vladimir Putin a victim of the West who is “standing up for beleaguered Russia,” CNN said.
China promotes Russian side in Ukraine war
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 launched an “unprovoked and unjustified” invasion of Ukraine, Twitter-like social media platform in China, Weibo, has been flooding with posts related to the event. CNN analysed 5,000 such posts from 14 Chinese state-owned media outlets. Post-analysis results showed that among roughly 300 most-shared posts about Ukraine 140 were pro-Russian. It contained data or information directly picked from Russian state media that held Moscow in good light. Citing Russian cabinet sources, Beijing-based media also promoted narratives that portrayed Ukraine as an “American puppet” state that threatened Moscow, CNN said.
Russia asks China for military support: Report
The aforementioned pattern of amplified promotion of Russian propaganda through explicit posts comes after the Washington Post on Sunday reported Moscow has asked China to supply military pieces of equipment amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, citing a US official. However, it is unclear as to what kind of weaponry has been requested.
The move prompted US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan to warn China against attempting any involvement with Russia in the wake of the ongoing war. He is also scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi in the Italian capital Rome later today.
Meanwhile, as the war has escalated into day 19, several reports are floating that claim that Russian invaders might be running out of military supplies. So far, thousands of people in Ukraine have lost their lives due to arbitrary bombings and shelling of cities. Demolished infrastructure, food insecurity, and health care crisis have pushed the ex-Soviet country to the edge of the worst “humanitarian catastrophe” in Europe.