Originally published by The Wall Street Journal, 28 Feb 2011

By Jason Dean

China’s vote for the United Nations Security Council resolution on Libya represents an unusual endorsement by Beijing of sanctions against another government over the treatment of its people.

For decades, the Asian power has held as a central premise of its foreign policy that governments shouldn’t interfere in the “internal affairs” of other countries. A permanent member of the Security Council, Beijing has backed U.N. sanctions against North Korea and Iran several times in recent years, but the measures were targeted at the two nations’ nuclear efforts. By contrast, China has generally stymied efforts to target other governments such as Zimbabwe and Myanmar for human-rights violations—wielding its veto power, for example, to block sanctions efforts against Zimbabwe, Myanmar, and Sudan.

China’s policy is based in part on its ownown anger when foreign powers criticize it for human-rights issues, such as the widespreadspread condemnation of its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 1989. Mr. Gadhafi, in a speech on Libyan state TV on Feb 22, cited the Chinese government’s crackdown in justifying his government’s actions.

It’s unclear why exactly Beijing supported the sanctions against Mr. Gadhafi. China has been playing a somewhat more active international role as its clout has grown in recent years. The fact that Libya’s government has fragmented—its ambassador to the U.N. endorsed the sanctions— likely made the move more acceptable to Beijing.

China’s Foreign Ministry didn’t respond to a request to comment Sunday. Asked at a routineThursday briefing about its support for a Security Council pressstatement last week condemning the use of force against civilians in Libya, a ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said the noninterference principle remains “one of the pillars of China’s foreign policy.” and “will not change.” He also noted that China has “actively and constructively taken part in Security Council activities.”

Beijing has been especially concerned about the safety of its roughly 30,000 citizens in Libya the North African country. China has extensive business interests in the nation, which supplies about 3% of its crude imports. By Sunday, the Foreign Ministry said,more than 20,000 Chinese nationals had been evacuatedfrom Libya.

Li Baodong, China’s UN representative, highlighted the safety of foreign nationals in remarks at the Security Council’s meeting Saturday night. Mr. Li urged the immediate end of violence to restore stability “avoid further bloodshed and civilian casualties,” saying “the safety and interest of the foreign nationals in Libya must be assured” in the process.

Write to Jason Dean at [email protected]

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