What can China do about Ukraine and will it do it?

Photo by Kayla Kozlowski on Unsplash

The horror of what’s happening in Ukraine has focussed minds on China’s obligations.

After all, it has an “unlimited” partnership with China that’s just about a month old.

And for nearly 70 years, China has been committed to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. These include respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression and non-interference in other countries’ domestic affairs.

China recently denied that Russia asked it for military ​equipment to ​support its invasion of Ukraine, ​news that’s been spread about by US officials. No one knows what’s true or not. China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, recently parleyed with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, presumably on this and other matters. China later said Mr Yang had urged all parties to exercise “maximum restraint” and protect civilians. That’s anodyne to the point of useless.

But economists such as Yale professor Stephen Roach argue that there is no …