Beijing is opposed to the politicization of the human rights issue, said China’s Foreign Ministry in connection with Russia being suspended from its seat on the UN Human Rights Council.
"China strongly opposes... the electoral double standards and confrontation on human rights issues, and the use of the issue of human rights to pressure other countries," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, told reporters.
Following demands by the United States and the Group of Seven, the United Nations suspended Russia from the UNHRC in a vote on Thursday. The resolution to strip Russia of its seat passed with 93 votes in favor, 24 against and 58 abstentions.
Preparation of the resolution was not transparent, and this move will only serve to exacerbate the split in the Council, "increase contradictions between the parties and add fuel to the fire," Zhao Lijian added.
The countries that voted against include Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, the CAR, China, Republic of the Congo, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mali, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.
Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, India, Kuwait, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE are among those that abstained.
Serbia, Israel, and Turkey were among those that supported the move to suspend Russia from the body.
It is the first time that a permanent member of the UN Security Council has been forcibly removed from any UN body.
As the move deprived Moscow of the right to vote and to speak in the council, in response, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Gennady Kuzmin said that Russia was ending its membership in the UN body.
The decision to expell Russia from the UNHRC was slammed by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as "illegal" and "politically motivated." He added that Moscow regrets its suspension and will continue to defend its interests and clarify its position.
The US had called for the move earlier in the week, after Russian forces withdrew from the Ukrainian city of Bucha and images of dozens of dead civilians circulated in the Western press. Washington claimed Russian troops had executed them.
Moscow has denied all accusations of targeting civilians and pointed to a several-day gap between the Russian pullout and the discovery of the bodies, during which time Ukrainian police had made sweeps through the area to remove pro-Russian citizens.
Russia began its special operation to demilitarise and de-Nazify Ukraine on February 24 after the independent People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed to Moscow for help. The Russian Defense Ministry has said the operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only, while Ukrainian forces have been using civilians as shields and positioning weapons systems in civilian areas.
In response to the operation, Washington, its NATO allies have sought to isolate Russia on the global stage politically and economically by unleashing a sanctions campaign against it.