China on the fence over Russia's actions in Crimea

Aspiring superpower China has so far been happy to sit on the fence over neighbour Russia’s actions in Crimea, as it waits to see what may be possible closer to home, writes Max Strasser

ON THE day Russia officially annexed Crimea, President Vladimir Putin thanked his allies. “We are grateful to the people of China, whose leaders have always, when considering the situation in Ukraine and Crimea, taken into account the full historical and political context,” he said.

A day earlier, a senior US White House official was telling a very different story. Pointing to China’s abstention on a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Crimean referendum, he said: “In terms of who’s isolated here, the United States is leading a united international community in condemnation of this action, while Russia finds itself alone in insisting upon the legitimacy of their intervention in Ukraine.”