alt Hacker News> If Europe wishes to be "friends" with China, it means giving Russia primacy within Europe by giving up Ukraine, as well as completely giving up on European domestic industry.
Absolutely not. China is not a friend of russia. It's just convenient for them to prolong the time that russia bleeds out. The best way of achieving this is not letting russia to lose to fast. Any kind of russian success does not serve China in any capacity.
Europe could offer China a lot to tip the balance.
> Europe could offer China a lot to tip the balance
> Any kind of russian success does not serve China in any capacity
That's not what the Chinese policymakers think [0][1].
They view the EU as a has-been that thinks it's a global power but lacks the technology or capability to become one [2].
On the other hand, Russia helps China put pressure on Japan [3], South Korea [4], Central Asia [5], backchannel with India [6], allows China to bypass Hormuz [7], and is transferring military IP to China [8].
Even China's foreign minister Wang Yi told Kaja Kallas this point blank [9] and even the Polish policymaking space recognizes this [10].
[0] - https://fddi.fudan.edu.cn/_t2515/57/f8/c21257a743416/page.ht...
[1] - https://ies.cass.cn/cn/work/comment/202206/t20220601_5410899...
[2] - https://www.ccpit.org/france/a/20260623/20260623vb86.html
[3] - https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russian-b...
[4] - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqxq38028djo
[5] - https://www.reuters.com/world/china-looks-strengthen-ties-ru...
[6] - https://eastasiaforum.org/2020/10/23/how-russia-emerged-as-k...
[7] - https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3345920/m...
[8] - https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/comme...
[9] - https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3316875/ch...
[10] - https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-commentary/2025-01-...