China’s call for the international community to respect Russia’s “legitimate security concerns” as it invades Ukraine echoes Beijing’s position on North Korea, experts say, and aligns with a broader push against U.S. primacy.

Beijing has stood by its longtime partner Pyongyang throughout the Biden administration’s recent sanction push and condemnations against missile launches, all the while urging Washington and Seoul to acknowledge North Korea’s “reasonable” and “legitimate concerns.”

“Beijing is lending support to Moscow and Pyongyang’s respective claims that their aggressive behaviors are warranted and being driven by the actions of the West,” Patricia Kim, an expert on Chinese foreign