By Aglaya Snetkov and Marc Lanteigne, As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, China’s role has been thrown into sharp relief. Prior to the war, some commentators suggested that China would openly side with Russia or seek to act as a mediator – so far Beijing appears to have resisted doing either.
Since the Ukraine invasion, Beijing has not explicitly condoned nor condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine and has hesitated to refer to the crisis as a war, writes Aglaya Snetkov and Marc Lanteigne.
In an apparent bid to rally support for President Vladimir Putin, the letter Z has emerged as a sign of approval for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But its meaning is hard to decipher, experts say.