(A)

Despite the close economic ties and geographical boundaries that we share, I believe it is still

prudent to remain neutral on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as economic links does not tie

China down to Russia permanently and it is impossible to accurately predict the results of the

war.

We cannot condemn Russia’s invasion as we share a border with them and it would be

dangerous to have a hostile nation close by. At the same time, there is international pressure

to condemn how Russia has broken international laws by invading Ukraine. Furthermore, we

are interlinked with the rest of the world in a global capitalist system and supporting Russia

would bring more sanction on us, on top of the ones already imposed by USA which could

further damage our economy which is still recovering from Covid-19.

Furthermore, we are one year into the war and USA and European nations continue to

provide support for Ukraine which shows that their support is unlikely to falter. On the other

hand, China is still currently facing an economic crisis after Covid-19 and may not have the

resources to support Russia through a prolonged war.

Currently, we are already one of Russia’s largest trading partner with nearly one-fifth of

China’s crude oil imports coming from Russia. However, Russia is not our only supplier and

there is no need to protect Russia just to protect our supply of crude oil. Additionally, after

one year into the war, Russia still does not seem to have a guarantee that they could win the

war, hence, it is not wise to support them too soon. Thus, I suggest that we continue to

declare our neutrality towards the war until there is clear sign of who the victor will be.

We are also interlinked with other countries through the global capitalist system and it would

be highly detrimental for our economy to split with other countries to support Russia. Hence,

I also suggest that we continue to pursue diplomatic ties with other leaders through
diplomatic meetings and continue to forge economic ties through trade agreements. In

addition, China and Russia are already viewed as close allies because of our historical

communist roots, hence it is crucial to show and convince other world leaders that we will

support Russia just because of past alliances.

Moreover, I recommend that we do not supply lethal weapons to Russia unless we are

attacked for trading with Russia. Providing lethal weapons could be seen as formerly

participating in the war, provoking hostile actions by other countries. Furthermore, providing

more military power to Russia could lead to a more prolonged war which will lead to more

destruction and disruptions in the supply chain which is disadvantageous to our economy.

I also recommend that we do not support Russia unless we are attacked as it would show that

we support breaking international law. Diminishing the legitimacy of the international law

could lead to an increase in wars in the long term which is not beneficial to our security and

development.