On February 20, Senior Colonel (ret.) Zhou Bo, senior fellow at Tsinghua University’s Center for International Security and Strategy and China Forum expert, shared his opinion with BBC Newsnight on China’s position in the Ukraine crisis.

In response to President Zelensky’s statement that “I would like [China] to be on our side,” Zhou said that when two countries are at war, each party would wish other countries to be on its side, but China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is exactly one of neutrality. The West should not put China in this position to take sides on this issue, Zhou stressed.