How do we explain China’s voting

behavior in the UN regarding the Ukraine

conflict?
Breakdown of the question at hand
I. China‘s voting patterns: Crimean referendum in 2014

II. China‘s voting behavior in the UN Security Council

III. China‘s voting behavior in the UN General Assembly

IV. China‘s voting behavior concerning Russia‘s removal from the UN

Human Rights Council
I. China‘s voting patterns:
Crimean referendum 2014
 • As these events unfolded, the UN
held two important votes
• The UN Security Council
March 16, considered a resolution to declare
the referendum‘s results unvalid
2014: 97% of • Western states voted in favor, but
Crimeans Russia‘s veto kept it from passing
opted to leave • Meanwhile, China abstained
Ukraine and • Later this month, the UN General
Assembly voted on a resolution
join Russia that discouraged the recognition
of Crimea - China abstained
again
 Why did China take this position on these two
resolutions?
• (1) Western double standards on similar referendums in the past

• (2) Beijing‘s commitment to non-interference

• (3) The complexity of historical factors at play in Crimea

 • Inconsistency on similar votes held by former
Soviet territories
• For instance, the US and Europe supported and
(1) Western recognized Ukraine‘s and Georgia‘s independence
referendums in 1991
double • They also backed Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for
standards independece
• In 2008 the West gave significant assistance to
Kosovo as it was declaring independece from
Serbia
(1) Western double
standards
• To China, the West backs
secession movements that refelct
their own interests and oppose
those that do not
• The opposition to the Crimean
referendum by the West appears
to China to be based more on
securing greater influence in
Eastern Europe than on Ukraine‘s
own intersts
(2) A commitment to non-interference
• China claims that its diplomacy is based on „Five Principles of
Peaceful Coexistence“
• Mutual respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty
• Mutual non-aggression
• Non-interference in each other’s internal affairs
• Equality and mutual benefit
• Peaceful coexistence
(2) A commitment to non-interference
• From China‘s perspective, interfering in the internal matters of other countries is
counterproductive
• The Crimean referendum was an internal Ukrainian issue
• The West‘s condemnation could be interpreted as a form of meddling
• Beijing does not support Russia‘s approach either
• China rather abstained from voting on the UN resoltuons than casting a ballot in
favour of either party
(3) The complexitiy of historical factors at play
• Countries have different perspectives on various situations and their viewpoints
involve many motivations and interests
• Russia and Ukraine share a complicated history
• Only in 1954 Crimea joined Ukraine
• In 2001, 58% of Crimeans were ethnically Russian
• Ukraine‘s political orientation is towards the West though
Conclusion: China‘s voting behaviour explained
• (1) Western double standards, (2) its commitment to non-interference
and (3) the complexity of historical factors at play, made China stand
on neither side
• Consequently China abstained from voting on the March 2014 UN
resolutions
• Clear pattern in China‘s diplomacy
II. China‘s voting
behavior in the UN
Security Council
China’s Voting Behaviour in the
UN Security Council 
The veto power of the five permanent members
of the Council is the term commonly used with
regard to the provision of Article 27, para. 3 of
the Charter of the United Nations, which
provides that:

“Decisions of the Security Council on all

other matters shall be made by an affirmative
vote of nine members including the
concurring votes of the permanent
members.” (UN Charter)
Vetoed UNSC resolutions
on the Syrian Civil War
What’s China’s official position on the Russia Ukraine Crisis? 

• China maintains that all states’ (including Ukraine’s) sovereignty and territorial integrity
should be respected and protected according to the UN Charter
• China believes that the legitimate security concerns of all countries should be respected
• Here, NATO’s expansion raised legitimate security demands in Russia
• China doesn’t want to see the current situation in Ukraine, and all parties should
exercise restraint
• China supports a diplomatic resolution and peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and
states that the Ukraine issue has evolved in a ‘complex historical context’:
• China stands against the invocation of UN Charter Chapter VII that authorises the use of
force and sanctions in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, but
believes that the UNSC should play a constructive role in resolving the Ukraine issue
III. China‘s voting behavior in
the UN General Assembly
China‘s vote concerning the 02.03.22 resolution
(Aggression against Ukraine)
 China‘s vote concerning the 24.03.22 resolution
(Humanitarian Consequences of the aggression against Ukraine)
 China‘s vote concerning the 24.03.22 resolution
(Suspension of the rights of membership of Russia in the Human Rights Council)
“Bucha and dozens of other Ukrainian cities and
villages, where thousands of peaceful residents
have been killed, tortured, raped, abducted and
robbed by the Russian Army, serve as an
example of how dramatically far the Russian
Federation has gone from its initial declarations
in the human rights domain. That is why this
case is unique, and today’s response is obvious
and self-explanatory,” - Ukrainian Ambassador
Sergiy Kyslytsya
• “These States for many years have directly been involved in blatant
and massive violations of human rights or abetted those violations” …
“In spite of their membership as members of the Council, they are not
ready to sacrifice their short-term political and economic interests in
favour of true cooperation and stabilising the human rights situation in
certain countries.” Gennady Kuzmin, Deputy Russian Ambassador
•"The truth and the cause of
the incident must be
verified," Chinese foreign
ministry spokesperson Zhao
Lijian told reporters at a
briefing on Wednesday, per
the Associated Press. "All
parties should exercise
restraint and avoid
unfounded accusations
before a conclusion of the
investigation is drawn."
By avoiding mentioning Russia, T.S. Tirumurti, India's permanent representative to the
UN, told during a meeting of the UN Security Council that:

"Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing."   … "We

unequivocally condemn these killings and support the call for an independent
investigation."
What is the UN Human
Rights Council
(UNHRC)?
IV. China‘s voting behavior concerning Russia‘s removal
from the UN Human Rights Council
 Statement by UN Ambassador Zhang Jun:
China's veto
against the “China always calls for promoting and 
protecting human rights through constructive 
resolution and dialogue and cooperation on the basis of 
equality and mutual respect. At the same 
its link to the time, we firmly oppose the politicization or 
Human Rights instrumentalization of human rights issues
(…) Dealing with the membership of the 
Council: Human Rights Council in such a way would 
set a  new and dangerous precedent (...)”
So, why did China
vote no?
• United Nations high commissioner
for human rights is scheduled this
May to visit China´s Xinjiang region
and investigate abuses against the
Uyghur minority
• First time in over 10 years that China
will host an UN human rights Chief
• Since “Strike Hard Against Violent
Extremism” campaign, evidence for
widespread human rights abuses in
the region have been surfacing
• China’s government would only
allow for a ‘friendly visit’ by the
High Commissioner
The broader A) Block criticism
B) Change the interpretation of human rights
perspective: • Xi´s “community of shared destiny”

China´s role • Key phrases used in his remarks to appear in

resolutions that China is pushing at the Human
and strategy in Rights Council  e.g. “mutual respect and win-
win cooperation”.
the HRC • Prime example: China’s second independent
HRC resolution in 2018: “Promoting Mutually
Beneficial Cooperation in the Field of Human
Rights” → Meaning of Human rights shifts
from individual to state level?
A closer look at it…
 • India´s military dependence on Russia and
 Why did India tensions with China in border region
and Pakistan
abstain? • Pakistani-Chinese relations still strong
after power shift last month
The End