This is why China supported Bashar al-Assad throughout the Syrian civil war, backed Russia’s framing of Ukraine, and consistently used its U.N. Security Council veto to block interventions justified on humanitarian or democratic grounds. For Beijing, the principle is existential: If great powers can remove governments that they deem illegitimate, then no government is safe—including its own.
China is deeply sensitive to regime change narratives. For decades, Beijing has made active diplomatic efforts to prevent externally imposed leadership transitions, viewing them as threats not just to international stability but also to the legitimacy of its own system.
China is deeply sensitive to regime change narratives. For decades, Beijing has made active diplomatic efforts to prevent externally imposed leadership transitions, viewing them as threats not just to international stability but also to the legitimacy of its own system.
This is why China supported Bashar al-Assad throughout the Syrian civil war, backed Russia’s framing of Ukraine, and consistently used its U.N. Security Council veto to block interventions justified on humanitarian or democratic grounds. For Beijing, the principle is existential: If great powers can remove governments that they deem illegitimate, then no government is safe—including its own.
Chinese officials may see the U.S.
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