Staying neutral but backing Russia, China calls Ukraine crisis ‘alarm for humanity’

Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the business forum of the BRICS summit said the conflict in Ukraine has “sounded an alarm for humanity," but proposed no solutions

The conflict in Ukraine has “sounded an alarm for humanity,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said Wednesday, as China continues to assume a position of neutrality while backing its ally Russia.

China has refused to criticize Russia's war in Ukraine or even to refer to it as an invasion in deference to Moscow, while also condemning U.S.-led sanctions against Russia and accusing the West of provoking Moscow.

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“The Ukraine crisis has again sounded the alarm for humanity. Countries will surely end up in security hardships if they place blind faith in their positions of strength, expand military alliances, and seek their own safety at the expense of others," the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Xi as saying.

Xi, who did not propose any solutions, was speaking at the opening of a virtual business forum of the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

In other comments, Xi said imposing sanctions could act as a “boomerang” and a “double-edged sword,” and that the global community would suffer from “politicising, mechanising and weaponising” global economic trends and financial flows.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro maintained an unusual diplomatic tone in his brief recorded speech to the forum, exalting his administration’s results without naming any other country.