China’s official position is not complicated. It supports the UN system, the post-WWII international order, and the principle that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected. It opposes bloc confrontation—the kind seen between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. At the same time, it believes the root causes of the Russia-Ukraine issue are complex. NATO expansion is one part. The various odd ideologies of the Slavic peoples are another. Some things Russia did wrong, some things Ukraine did wrong, and some things are the result of American machinations. So war broke out. Is that so hard to understand? I have said this many times on this forum. China values its relationship with the United States, and China also values its relationship with Russia. Both exist at the same time. This is China’s way—we handle all this in a complex manner. As a result, we are not particularly concerned about whether Russia is winning or losing. Russia and Ukraine are locked in something of a war of attrition. This is bad for European economies. But European countries, driven by a high-risk, high-reward mentality, seem to want to see Russia repeat the story of the Soviet collapse once again. I suspect the Europeans will have a hard time getting what they want. They have imagined things a bit too rosy.
Simply put, mainstream media outlets like the Financial Times—despite their ability to produce many accurate news reports—will lie if they need to. They have no psychological barrier against it. If they need to, they will lie.