China has not chosen a side but blames the US for the Russian-Ukraine war and for the mass killings to be investigated.
“It is regrettable that after the exposure of the ‘Bucha incident,’ the US, the initiator of the Ukraine crisis, has not shown any signs of urging peace and promoting talks, but is ready to exacerbate the Russia-Ukraine tensions,” the editorial said.
“No matter how the ‘Bucha incident’ took place, no one can deny at least one thing: War itself is the main culprit of the humanitarian disaster,” it added.
Since the beginning of the war, China has remained neutral and urged both sides to settle the war peacefully. There were allegations that the state media has chosen to support Russian propaganda.
Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun acknowledged that the images of civilian deaths in Bucha were “deeply disturbing,” but when it came to attributing blame for the situation he urged “all sides” to “exercise restraint and avoid unfounded accusations.”
“The relevant circumstances and specific causes of the incident should be verified and established. Any accusations should be based on facts,” Zhang said.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, “humanitarian issues should not be politicized.”
“All parties should exercise restraint and avoid groundless accusations” before fact-finding was concluded, Wang said, adding that China “is willing to continue to work together with the international community to avoid any harm coming to civilians.”
However, the tone is different within their walls. China News Service ran a post on the popular Twitter-like social media platform Weibo with the hashtag, “Russia shows the video to prove that the Bucha incident is staged” referencing a report from a Russian state news agency.