Ukraine crisis; Hong Kong; Coal; BRI; Capital and power

I do not have a hot take on Ukraine and China for you. The situation is just awful and getting worse, it is hard to concentrate when we can watch Russia’s invasion and the continuing destruction in near real-time.

And yes, it is an invasion in spite of the PRC’s unwillingness to call it that. I guess Hua Chunying and others forgot Confucius’ exhortation “名不正则言不顺 if the name is not correct the words will not ring true”?

The best explanation of the PRC’s choices on Ukraine I have seen so far comes from Evan Feigenbaum:

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an important test of China’s policy evolution, tactical positioning, and strategic choices. Beijing is selfish about its own interests and will not want Washington to be the one to frame China’s alternatives. But Beijing is trying to strike an impossible balance by seeking to pursue three goals simultaneously: a strategic partnership with Russia, commitment to long-standing foreign policy principles of “territorial integrity” and “noninterfer…