While refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Chinese Communist regime actually fears that its major strategic interests in Europe will be undermined if Russia takes over Ukraine, experts said. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long regarded Ukraine as a bridgehead of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the CCP’s infrastructure expansion program, in Europe. If Russia seizes Ukraine, the CCP may not merely suffer from the military industry, it will lose this crucial bridgehead. Li Yan, a researcher at World Economics and the Politics Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, described the strategic significance of Ukraine to the CCP in a research report published in 2018, saying that Ukraine has an excellent geographical position as it is located in the center of Europe. It is an essential route for the CCP to promote its BRI to European countries. Moreover, Ukraine is a European grain warehouse with …