Ukraine attack by Russia not called ‘invasion’ as China’s state media take cautious line
- State media adheres to Beijing’s line on calls for restraint and strategic partner Moscow’s security concerns over a growing Nato
- Some social media users and academics take a more pro-Ukraine stance
Chinese state media have not labelled the Russian military assault as “invasion”, and have echoed Beijing in repeating the security threat posed to Moscow by Nato’s eastward expansion. Most recent reports have focused on the evacuation of Chinese nationals from Ukraine.
However, the picture is slightly different on social media, where posts showing sympathy for Ukraine have appeared over the past few days.
Niu Tanqin, a WeChat account run by former Xinhua journalist Liu Hong, said one of the lessons learned from the war was to “never trust force too much”.
“Even if Russia really wins [the capital] Kyiv and all of Ukraine, can it really win over the Ukrainians? I don’t know, but it must be hard. If we believe in force too much, sometimes we could be swallowed by force,” ran a post on Monday.
Chinese scholars have also come out in support of Ukraine joining the European Union, something the country has long sought and President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday appealed for with “immediate” effect.
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