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How China’s dilemma over Ukraine may loom large at key political gathering

  • Beijing is in a difficult position, caught between Russia and the West, but experts say it’s unlikely to condemn the invasion or give full support to Moscow
  • The crisis is expected to be among the issues addressed when Foreign Minister Wang Yi gives his annual news conference during the National People’s Congress

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China’s annual legislative meeting will be held in Beijing from Saturday. Photo: Xinhua
Thousands of China’s political elite converge on Beijing each year for the “two sessions”, the country’s biggest annual political meetings. In the first of a series on this year’s agenda, we look at how the Ukraine crisis may loom large.
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As calls mount for China to try to dissuade Russia from attacking Ukraine, Beijing is facing a dilemma that could overshadow its annual legislative session that begins on Saturday.

Caught between Russia and the West, China is unlikely to condemn the invasion but it is also not expected to give its full support to Moscow, an important strategic partner, according to experts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last week, the biggest ground war in Europe since World War II. It came just weeks after Beijing and Moscow agreed to push forward their “strategic partnership without limits” in the face of increasing acrimony from the West.

China – which frequently states its foreign policy stand of non-interference – has been cautious in its response to the Ukraine crisis. It is trying to balance efforts to be “a responsible global power” with a growing alliance with Russia and ties with Ukraine – a key supplier of grain and corn which has also provided military technology to China.

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Since the invasion, Beijing has twice abstained from voting on a UN Security Council resolution demanding that Russia stop its attack on Ukraine.

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