China’s Balancing Act
Russia’s Ukraine War and the Implications for Taiwan
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
China and Russia share a close partnership. It is based mainly on shared ideas of world order. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forces Beijing to perform a balancing act between this friendship, the preservation of long-held principles of territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as the continuation of cooperation with the West, which is essential out of economic and technological interests. China and Taiwan are closely following Russia’s war against Ukraine and the West’s response. Observers see parallels in the constellation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine with the dispute between China and Taiwan. Beijing and Taipei are drawing different lessons from Russia’s aggression and the course of the war.
(Osteuropa 7-9/2023, pp. 227–237)