Former senior colonel in China's People's Liberation Army Zhou Bo talks to the FT's global China editor James Kynge about Beijing's leverage with Moscow, how China's influence can prevent the use of nuclear weapons in Europe and why it wants a strong relationship with Europe even in the face of increased competition with the US.
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When China thinks about this war. I think you mentioned a very important word which is often misquoted in the international media, although they quoted in a right way to call it 'unlimited friendship.' But this term is most misunderstood, in that.. think of this. Well, certainly not happy to see this war, because it has strongly affected Chinese interests. When I talk about Chinese interests, well, because China now is the largest trading nation, largest industrial nation in the world, therefore Chinese interests are almost ubiquitous everywhere. And in Europe it actually has affected China's belt-and-road initiative.
While this is certainly is an important issue about sovereignty, this is clearly an invasion of one country into another country. But at the same time people tend to forget why this has happened at all. Because ever since the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, on to President Putin, they have all warned against this kind of Nato's expansion, and they have all fell on deaf ears.
Right. And is this a conscious effort by China at the moment, or is it a sort of passive wish that China has that Russia should restrain itself from any scenario in which it might use nuclear weapons? I would say Nato's expansion is very much the fundamental reason why Russia has actually taken such actions. So for military alliances they have to find a threat to justify their own existence, to justify the expansion. Because they live by expansion.
Well, I think it would be wrong to conclude that China's image is damaged. Because I believe the west has to think of China's role, not only through its own prism, but you put yourself in the shoes of China. Put yourself in the shoes of India. Put yourself in the shoes of the countries in the global south.
So what's China's view on its relationship with Europe? If we are moving towards a potential endgame in the war in Ukraine, does that present an opportunity for China to improve its relations with Europe?
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