China won't do anything to support Russia if this causes secondary sanctions - political scientist Tsang

The political scientist says that China's position, or rather Xi Jinping's, on the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been to declare neutrality from the very beginning.

“Ukraine actually had good relationships with China before the invasion. Ukraine was a major supplier of feed grain to China, and therefore a source of food security for China. So they don't really want you to be involved in a war that will cause disruptions in food production and supply,” he noted. 

The director of the SOAS China Institute emphasizes that Xi Jinping has a very strong personal relationship with Putin, but he will not do anything radical to support the Ukraine war. 

“He (Xi Jinping - ed.) decided to support Putin. He also decided that this support, which is officially unlimited, actually has very clear limits, namely: China will not do anything to support Russia if it triggers secondary sanctions. So, we see that China is not providing Russia with ready-made weapons systems, but with spare parts and other technologies that can be used without triggering secondary sanctions,” Steve Tsang concluded.