CHINA PERSPECTIVE

Beijing adopts its habitual reading of perfect symmetry. South China Morning Post relays the facts accurately — Russia warned diplomats in Kyiv of a retaliatory strike if Ukraine disrupted Victory Day commemorations — without editorializing in favor of either side. SCMP notes that both countries exchanged strikes on the same day: 13 wounded in the Russian city of Bryansk, one wounded in Dnipro on Ukraine's side. China, which maintains relations with both belligerents, consistently positions itself as a potential mediator. Beijing had decided not to enforce US sanctions against Chinese companies — a gesture cited by Zakharova as solidarity that Russia 'welcomes and considers entirely justified.' The SCMP article does not mention the 1,820 violations of Ukraine's ceasefire by Russia, a figure central to Ukraine's and Western narratives. Beijing's editorial line: avoid publicly calling out Moscow, while maintaining a generic peace discourse that preserves Chinese commercial options with Ukraine and diplomatic options with Russia.