The Chinese government has made clear that it will remain a strategic ally of Russia despite President Vladimir Putin being viewed globally as the aggressor in the war.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin enter a hall for talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia in 2019. | Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File/AP Photo

ByPHELIM KINE

02/26/2022 07:00 AM EST

As the war between Russia and Ukraine intensifies, China is betting that it comes out the winner. In the past week, Beijing has carefully calibrated its position, opening in neutral then going all-in behind Moscow.

The Chinese government has demonstrated its alignment with Putin in recent days by blaming the U.S. for Russia’s assault on Ukraine, parroting Russia’s Orwellian description of the invasion as a “special military operation” and rationalizing that aggression as an expression of the Kremlin’s “legitimate” perceptions of regional insecurity.

But Beijing could be…