Huawei pauses Russia operations as Beijing denounce NATO
In a major blow to Moscow, Huawei announced it would furlough Russian employees for the month of April. But even as China largely complies with the substance of sanctions, Beijing’s rhetorical support for Moscow shows no signs of letup.
Controversial Chinese telecom maker Huawei is scaling back operations in Russia, at least temporarily, as it evaluates how it can operate in the country without violating sanctions.
- Ericsson and Nokia, two of Huawei’s main rivals, exited Russia earlier in the week.
- Russia doesn’t have a 5G champion or even a major domestic telecom company. Its ability to maintain its telecommunications networks, particularly over the medium to long term, is very uncertain.
More anti-NATO and anti-U.S. rhetoric from Beijing
While Beijing has shied away from openly supporting Moscow — and has largely complied with sanctions — it continues to blame the conflict on NATO, especially the United States. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Party’s newspaper, the People’s Daily, continue to indulge the biological weapons conspiracy theory.
- MFA spokesperson and wolf warrior extraordinaire Zhào Lìjiān 赵立坚 excoriated NATO at a MFA press conference, saying: “While claiming to be a defensive organization, NATO has been constantly making trouble and creating confrontation in reality.”
- The People’s Daily joined in with its own article series, with titles such as: U.S. side initiator of Ukraine crisis [sic], U.S. an evil backstage manipulator behind worldwide turmoil, and U.S. rakes in huge fortune by profiteering from wars around the world.
- In a signed article for Putin-loyal Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda, China’s ambassador to Russia Zhāng Hànhuī 张汉晖 lambasted the West, saying that “NATO has become a tool for U.S. hegemony.”
MFA went MIA amid Bucha massacre
Evidence of the Bucha massacre first emerged on April 1, as Russian forces in the city are accused of murdering, raping, and torturing civilians.
- China’s first official response came on April 6 after fielding a question from Reuters:
China attaches great importance to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and is highly concerned with the harm to civilians. We have put forward a six-point initiative on alleviating the humanitarian situation and taken concrete steps to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. The reports and images of civilian deaths in Bucha are deeply disturbing. The relevant circumstances and specific causes of the incident must be verified and ascertained. Humanitarian issues shouldn’t be politicized. Any accusations should be based on facts. Before the full picture is clear, all sides should exercise restraint and avoid unfounded accusations.
China’s ambassador to Belarus talks with Belarusian state media
Chinese ambassador to Belarus Xiè Xiǎoyòng 谢小用 sat down for an interview with Belarusian state media on April 11.
- Xie said that “China has always adhered to the position of promoting peace and promoting talks on the Ukraine issue, calling on Russia and Ukraine to cease fire and halt the war, and resolving disputes through peaceful means.”
- The Chinese Embassy in Russia started including some Belarus-related updates in its Russia “related news” section in January 2022.
