Why China’s Internet Cheers for Russia’s Invasion

They declared the friendship of the nations “without limits”.

Given that the leaders met just weeks before the invasion, it is understandable to conclude that China should have known better about the Kremlin’s plans. But there is growing evidence that the feedback chamber about China’s foreign policy setting may have misled not only the country’s internet users but also its officials.

My colleague, Edward Wong, reported that over a three-month period, senior US officials held meetings with their Chinese counterparts and shared intelligence details on building construction. Russia’s military buildup around Ukraine. The Americans asked Chinese officials to intervene with the Russians and told them not to invade.

The Chinese denied the Americans, saying they did not think an invasion was taking place. US intelligence shows that on one occasion, Beijing shared American information with Moscow.

Recent speeches by some of China’s most influential advisers to the government on international relations suggest that miscalculation may be based on deep distrust of the United States. They see it as a declining power that wants to promote war with fake intelligence because it will benefit the United States, financially and strategically.

Jin Canrong, a professor at Renmin University in Beijing, told on February 20, state broadcaster China Central Television, or CCTV, that the US government had been talking about impending war over an unstable Europe that would help Washington, as well as other industries. finance and energy of the country. After the fight started, he admitted to his 2.4 million Weibo followers that he was surprised.

Just before the invasion, Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, mocked the Biden administration’s predictions about war in a 52-minute video program. “Why would ‘Sleepy Joe’ use such poor quality intelligence on Ukraine and Russia?” he asked, using Donald Trump’s favorite nickname for President Biden.

Earlier in the week, Mr. Shen held a conference call about the Ukraine crisis with the brokerage firm’s clients, titled “A War Won’t Happen”.