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Facing an imminent Russian reinvasion of Ukraine, the European Union should ask China where it stands on this crisis.

The EU should ask that question because Russia's threat to Ukraine undermines a core EU principle: that no European nation should attack another. Considering China's oft-stated claim that it is an EU friend that seeks only "win-win cooperation" with the political bloc, the EU deserves to know whether its largest trade partner regards Vladimir Putin's threat as acceptable.

This is not a question that Xi Jinping's regime wants to address.

Normally hyperbolic in its messaging on matters of major geopolitical consequence, the Chinese Communist Party's propaganda organs are largely silent on the current Ukraine crisis. In contrast to just about every other global newspaper, on Thursday, the Central Foreign Affairs Commission-run Global Times newspaper carried not one article on Ukraine. Perhaps the Global Times needs a name change?

In contrast, on Thursday, Chinese domestic state media trumpeted an exchange of pleasantries between Xi and Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, a possible partner to any Russian invasion of Ukraine. The two countries, Xinhua said, "enjoy unbreakable political mutual trust, fruitful cooperation in various fields, firm support for each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, and close and effective coordination in international and regional affairs."

China's salutation of Lukashenko and simultaneous silence on Ukraine should be a wake-up call for the EU. China will not criticize Putin's prospective invasion because to do so would risk aggravating its authoritarian partner. At the same time, however, Beijing doesn't want European attention to fall on its Ukraine silence. Beijing knows that such silence is incompatible with its claim to seek constructive European partnerships.

As EU leaders and the European Parliament consider the next steps in their relationship with China, they should pay close heed to Beijing's willingness to watch Europe burn. It says much about the political nature and duplicity of this regime.

Read more:
Will the European Union ask China where it stands on Ukraine? - Washington Examiner