Georgia crisis leaves Beijing struggling to find a balance

The Olympic Games kicked off on the auspicious date of August 8 and, as far as Beijing was concerned, the first day's proceedings could not have gone better.

But, beyond China's borders, the news was not so good. A war was breaking out between friend and rival Russia and Georgia - the culmination of a crisis over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia - which would push China into an awkward diplomatic corner.

Amid what seemed to have all the hallmarks of a cold-war-style tussle between a resurgent Russia and the west, China had little reason to be complacent. Indeed, analysts said China was walking a tightrope in a conflict that created several problems for Beijing.

China was torn between, on the one hand, supporting a friend and neighbour's move to counter a perceived attempt by the west to expand influence along Russia's borders or, on the other, opposing Russia's use of force to undermine another country's territorial integrity - Beijing's absolute diplomatic no-go zone.

In this dilemma, China's response was discretion: the leadership in Beijing has remained publicly silent on the war. The Foreign Ministry has called on all parties involved to solve the issue through dialogue and co-ordination - the line it has stuck to on almost all international issues.

When President Hu Jintao met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation summit (SCO) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, late last month, he said China had noticed the latest developments in South Ossetia and Abkhazia - two separatist states that declared independence from Georgia after Russia sent troops into the area.