Beijing had little time to bask in the glow of hosting the Winter Olympics as Thursday’s tense news briefing focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying refused to answer questions asking if Beijing considered Russia’s military movement into Ukraine an invasion.
She made it quite clear during the briefing who was to blame for the situation there.
“We have stated many times that the U.S. recently has been escalating tension and hyping up the war,” Hua said.
“Those parties who were busy condemning others, what have they done?” she continued. “Rather than hyping up or fanning the flames, have they done enough to prevent the development of the Ukraine situation that we are seeing today?”
The Chinese Embassy in Kyiv have urged their roughly 6,000 citizens in Ukraine to stay home and display a Chinese flag if they have to travel.
China and Russia have long been allies against the West, and have established a strong economic and trade agreement between the two superpowers.
Hua said China has been assured by Moscow no cities will be targeted, and also stated Russia is free to “set their own strategy based on its own interests.”
She also refused to draw any correlations between China’s relationship with Taiwan and the situation in Ukraine.
“Taiwan is not Ukraine. Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China. This is an indisputable legal and historical fact,” Hua said.