China publicly announced support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, following the arrival of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in China, and openly called the United States the “initiator” of the Ukraine crisis. Lavrov arrived in Huangshan City, Anhui Province, on March 30 for a two-day meeting, presided over by China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, to discuss issues surrounding Afghanistan. Foreign Ministers from Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan also attended the meeting. During the meeting, Wang told Lavrov that “China-Russia relations have withstood the new test of an evolving international landscape,” and both countries should “promote China-Russia relations in the new era to higher levels.” One day prior to the meeting, on March 29, Chinese state media, People’s Daily, published an article titled, “US Has Inescapable Responsibilities for Ukraine Crisis,” in which it claimed that the United States was the “initiator” and “the biggest driving force” of the Ukraine …