Beijing’s cynicism goes further than the disconnect between official rhetoric and actions. There are 6,000 Chinese citizens in Ukraine. Qing in his Post piece duly notes them as one more example of why China has outsized influence. But it’s just another example of how the PRC is abdicating leadership, not seeking it. For instance, contrary to the warnings given to U.S. and EU citizens in Ukraine by their governments prior to the war to seek safety and leave the country, China Insights and other netizen journalists have documented how Beijing did nothing to prepare their own citizens in Ukraine for what was coming. (Of course, to believe Ambassador Qing is to believe that China did not know what was coming.) Since the war began, the PRC’s support for Russia’s bloody aggression has included state media parroting the Russian line about self-defense and blocking any reporting to the contrary, placing Chinese citizens in Ukraine in even greater danger. There are interviews online with Chinese in Ukraine who fear for their lives because of their government’s perfidy, which is well acknowledged inside Ukraine and has led to Ukrainian threats of violence against them.

Beijing also has shown a willingness to hold the Ukraine crisis up for the world to see what might happen in Asia if we’re not careful. Referring to the threat of the Quad nations (U.S., Japan, India, and Australia) arrayed against China and the perceived parallel to NATO as a threat to Russia, Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng recently remarked that “the Ukraine crisis provides a mirror for us to observe the situation in the Asia-Pacific. We cannot but ask how can we prevent this from happening in the Asia-Pacific.” This as Mariupol is being destroyed for all the world to see.