Ukraine crisis; Hong Kong; Spring 2023 may be the target for relaxing Covid controls

The PRC was one of 35 countries to abstain in the vote today on the UN General Assembly resolution on Ukraine. That was not a surprise, and a statement explaining the abstention PRC Ambassador to the UN does not appear to show a shift from the PRC’s consistent position on the crisis. His full statement is included in item 1.

PRC citizens are still at risk in Ukraine, and it is not clear how some of them are going to get out. In Wang Yi’s call with the Ukraine Foreign Minister yesterday he “urged Ukraine to assume its due international responsibilities”. How Ukraine can do that from cities essentially under siege by the Russians is unclear, but any harm done to PRC citizens by Russian attacks will be both tragic and a domestic problem for the PRC government.