Classical and literary Chinese language and philology; history, religion and thought of pre-imperial and early imperial China; text and manuscript studies (Warring States, Qin, and Han periods); the n...

Dmytro Yefremov, an expert of the Ukrainian Association of Sinologists and associate professor of the Department of International Relations at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, stated this on Espreso TV."If we are talking about society, then, of course, there are sympathizers of Russia and sympathizers of Ukraine. And those who sympathize with Russia are, of course, more numerous. Why? Because they are guided by official propaganda, the official discourse formed within China, and the perception of events. About Russia, which is confronting the West, about Russia, which is fighting, let's say, for its national interests, and there is a threat that Russia will be constrained, its 'security concerns,' as both Putin and Chinese documents like to say, are not being properly taken into account, NATO is approaching their borders, NATO poses a threat not only to Russia but also to China," said Yefremov.He said that a delegation from the National People's Congress of China recently visited the European Parliament, which had not happened for several years."And there they took the liberty of commenting that NATO expansion, despite the threat that Russia now poses to Europe, is unacceptable, and that NATO should be dissolved as an alliance. That is, there is this feeling that, on the one hand, it is necessary to maintain and increase political coordination with Russia. And in fact, when top officials from the Chinese and Russian sides meet, they articulate and reinforce this message every time, choosing new and new formulations accordingly," the Sinologist believes.In his opinion, the idea is that the Chinese see the U.S. as a threat to both of them simultaneously, and are ready to coordinate their actions and take them, aiming at containing America and reducing the magnitude and size of its influence."Of course, official propaganda then reworks these statements and, based on some everyday examples, broadcasts them to the general population. Therefore, support and sympathy for Russia in Chinese society are high, but intellectuals, one might say, for the most part, understand the problem with the situation and, in principle, support Ukraine. Although publicly, in accordance with Chinese culture and the way of presenting oneself in public, they do not pronounce or demonstrate this, because they could face various sanctions or troubles for it. So that's how it looks," Yefremov concluded.