The Shanghai branch of the Communist Party newspaper, People’s Daily, on February 27, 2022.
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BEIJING – In China, the tightly controlled coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is heavily focused on negotiations.
Beijing’s line is to encourage negotiations as China tries to position itself further away from Russia than was presented in early February during a high-level meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As the Ukrainian delegation arrived at the border with Belarus for the first round of talks with Russia on Monday, Chinese state media was quick to update and even broadcast the debate live. State media reported on Xi’s conversation with Putin late Friday, focusing on the Russian leader’s desire to negotiate.
When the war began on Thursday, China’s foreign ministry kept its focus on the talks. And while he said China did not like what he saw, he declined to categorize the attack as an invasion.
State media coverage
Instead, Chinese state media use the term “special military operations.” The daily evening news on state television CCTV mentioned the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but mostly in a short segment towards the end of the approximately half-hour program in the international news section.
Again, the discussion of the war focuses more on negotiation efforts and less on Russia’s attack.
While the state-run Xinhua news agency published visual reports on Ukrainian refugees, some of the Communist Party’s People’s Daily claimed they were showing refugees arriving at the eastern border with Russia.
Xinhua broadcasts live from Kyiv from time to time, mostly for the lives of locals amid “conflict.”
Over the weekend, the Chinese embassy in Ukraine released a nearly 10-minute video of Ambassador Fan Xianrong, in which he said he was in Kyiv and heard sirens, explosions and gunshots.
Chinese Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday in a conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that China is “deeply saddened” to see the conflict, according to an official English statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Local media pushed the Chinese version of the testimony, which also said the call focused on the evacuation of Chinese citizens.
The state financial media discussed the impact of the war on commodity prices and markets.
But as is often the case in China, the media focused mainly on Xi’s speeches and events in the country.
Beijing is focusing on what is usually a politically sensitive time of year – largely a symbolic gathering of delegates in the capital to approve the GDP growth target, the national budget and other policy measures. The main meeting must start on Saturday and last at least a week.
Talk about China-US relations
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine coincided with the 50th anniversary of US President Richard Nixon’s trip to China and the thaw in US relations with Beijing.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang stressed the importance of US-China relations and the need to promote cooperation and return to the “right” path, according to comments provided by Chinese state media.
However, Chinese foreign ministry spokesmen blamed the United States for escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and daily evening news in state media said the United States was failing to cope with the pandemic and maintain stability in the Middle East.
During a press conference on Tuesday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce did not answer any questions from reporters about trade with Russia, Ukraine or the United States.