What Do the Chinese Think of Russia? | Street Interview

While the world is watching the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war unfold, many countries condemn Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. But what about China, which is supposed to be one of Russia’s biggest allies? We hit the streets of Shanghai to get Chinese citizen’s reaction to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict and to hear what they think about Russia and Putin in general.

The opinions expressed in this video are those of individual interviewees alone and do not reflect the views of ASIAN BOSS or the general Chinese population.

Our standard filming equipment:

0:00 - Intro
1:02 - Reaction to Ukraine-Russia conflict
1:42 - How big is this news in China
2:21 - How is this news being reported in the Chinese media?
3:34 - Why is Russia invading Ukraine?
4:33 - Chinese government’s response
6:18 - Relationship between Russia and China
9:04 - What do you think about Putin?
11:12 - How likely do you think this situation will lead to WW3?
13:48 - Do you think something similar would happen between China and Taiwan?
15:55 - Message to Ukrainians

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[AustinCMN]

Really disappointed with the quality of the translation. It's not just very loosely translated. Some sentences are barely related to the original or even mean the opposite. Here's a few examples of what the correct translation should be. Please judge for yourselves.
1:06 Personally, I think it might be too harsh to describe it as an "invasion".
4:08 dispatched their armed forces
4:23 They aimed their guns and missiles at Russia's door
4:53 (second sentence) if we can sign a treaty then we'll try not to resort to violence.
5:06-5:20 We shouldn't step in because Ukraine provoked the situation in the first place. Russia has been provoked, but it has not been invaded.
5:53 but we can urge them to stop or share our views.
6:15 We won't send weapons to the battlefield (meaning they won't contribute to the war)
8:19 blatantly (not blindly)
9:02 to tackle intense situations
12:20 I hope that the US can stop meddling in issues like this in the future so that there can be world peace.
15:18 The US benefits from our conflict. (Literally: The US is watching the tigers fight（观虎）. The Chinese saying 坐山观虎斗 "sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight" means to watch in safety whilst others fight then reap the rewards when both sides are exhausted)
16:45 no family can bear the pain of losing a loved one.

[shortdrink]

This is a really good interviewer - she didn’t let interesting off hand comments just slip by, but gently pressed in on them. Good stuff

[goodboi]

Thanks for the video! I wanted to point out some translations that could be better:

1:05 "I personally think the invasion is quite extreme" should be "I personally think the word 'invasion' is too extreme"
5:10 "We shouldn't step in because this is Ukraine's issue" should be "We shouldn't step in because Ukraine is the one who provoked Russia"
14:36 "First of all, the US has Taiwan's back..." should be "First of all, Taiwan's boss, the US, won't agree to it"

edit: adding 6:15 "We won't abandon the situation either" should be "we also won't send weapons to (either Ukraine or Russia)" from user Rhapsody in comments

[mnh]

It would be interesting doing street interview Americans thinking of China.

[teddytatyo]

some of the mistranslations drastically change the meaning of what was spoken.

6:14 The translation was "We wont't abandon the situation either." when it should have been "We would not supply arms to either sides."
12:19 The translation was " I hope the US can stop this situation" when it should have been "I hope that the US would refrain from intervening in the war, so that the world in general would be more peaceful."

[adriancann]

It's amazing how many different opinions came up. definitely not as one-sided as I had expected. great job Asian Boss

[RussellWu]

12:20 the lady meant "I hope US stop intervening (or provoking) and making this kind of situation", not "I hope US will stop the situation". These are completely opposite.

[tobyli]

You made the old man's day having him express his (rather conflicted) opinion on current issues over an interview rather than chatting with his friends in a park 😂

[beeflu]

As a Chinese I would say this is a good representation of what peoples views are in our country. No matter we support or condemn, peace and empathy is always above all.

[topthatplease]

The first woman interviewed, she said that the word “invasion” was a strong word’ . The subtitle interpreted it as she thought that the invasion was too much or terrible. There is a huge discrepancy in what she meant!!

[TheAvaiator]

Wow I’m impressed Chinese people are well educated and very smart, intelligent and informed ❤

[nufh]

I totally condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But for those who have a bad view of the old man's opinion. First you have to remember what his generation went through, the sacrifices they had to make for the current generation. Before China became an economic superpower they were always bullied by the west, who helped their country a lot back then only Russia. He saw many things that the present generation does not see.

[George-rsbm]

At 12'19", the translation: "I hope US can stop the situation and give the world some sense of peace."is the opposite of what the women in green says. She said, "I hope US stop intervening things like this [war] forever, then the world will be in peace."

[nstlvbr]

One thing should be added, most people I found online don't think China and Russia are ally. Because China pursue a no ally policy, meaning we don't have any ally, only partner or closed relationship from common interests, and most Chinese believe the famous Churchill's saying:"no lasting friends, no lasting enemies, only lasting interests." We don't take responsibility for other country's action or its own threat.We don't take actions or solid stand until our own safety and interests is threaten.

[menestrellskald]

Unfortunately, I don't often come across interviews of Chinese citizens, although I'm always curious about what they think and how they talk about things. It seemed to me that due to Chinese censorship and isolation, people would respond with anti-American propaganda narratives, but I was wrong. I’ll even say more, I’m a little shocked at how the Chinese talk about the problem and what different but always humane opinions they have. I want to express my admiration for your peacefulness.. sending love from Georgia 🇬🇪 ❤ 🇨🇳

[benyang]

Speaking as a Chinese；

Support Ukraine morally
Support Russia politically
Support no one realistically
Blame the West fully
Want peace absolutely

[WeskersTentacles]

as a Russian, I hope this nightmare will end soon! I have relatives in Ukraine, my aunt and uncle.

[KaBrook]

Really amazing people in these videos. We wish you all the best China. Love and peace from Scotland❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Rocky-hltt]

If we compare the views and disscussion of the Chinese and other street interviews in other countries. Obviously Chinese citizens are more independent and objective and express their own opinions more freely. I think if there is someone from the western society watching this video. They can understand how much differences of their impression about the China and Chinese compare with their western media propaganda.

[GOATaro_]

This is actually very eye opening for me. I never realized just how similar citizens of different countries are in terms of awareness and level-headedness. We shouldn’t have to pay for our governments’ petty disagreements.