Horizon News of the Beijing News umbrella, both state-run media outlets, accidentally posted that it would be taking a pro-Russia stance, in so-called “instructions” on how to cover the situation in Ukraine.

The message was later deleted, but it showed how the CCP was intending to use its media to create an anti-Western, pro-Kremlin narrative. It said that it would actively avoid posting any pro-Western content.

The messages were found on the Chinese site Weibo.

According to the Washington Post, the site has been framing the crisis as having grown and “escalated under American provocations.”

“China has strengthened its alliance with Russia in recent years and the two countries have also become increasingly active economic partners. Trade between China and Russia has grown from $10.7 billion in 2004 to $140 billion by 2021, according to the Carnegie Moscow Center think tank,” wrote Insider.

Ming Jinwei, a senior editor at the Xinhua News Agency, wrote in a WeChat blog: “Simply put, China has to back Russia up with emotional and moral support while refraining from treading on the toes of the United States and European Union.”

The US announced on Tuesday that there would be sanctions against Russia, as the situation on the Ukrainian border escalates.

According to the Washington Post:

Beijing has long said that noninterference and respect for territorial integrity form the core of its foreign policy — principles of international law that China often cites when pushing back against criticism of its measures to exert more control in Hong Kong, Tibet or Xinjiang or its claims to the self-governed democracy of Taiwan.”

For China, supporting a Russian invasion of Ukraine would harm already deteriorating ties with Western nations, but Beijing is also eager to bolster its burgeoning relationship with Moscow to counter what it sees as U.S. efforts to suppress its rise as a global power.