Russian meddling in US elections: Did China know?

THE indictment by Special Counsel Robert Mueller charging 13 Russian citizens and three Russian entities provides detailed allegations of what the Russians did when they interfered in the 2016 American presidential elections.

The interesting question is: Did China know what Russia, its closest strategic partner, was up to? Would China have condoned such actions, which is contrary to its publicly stated principles.

China has insisted since the 1950s that no country should interfere in another country's internal affairs. This month, when asked about the political turbulence in the Maldives, the Chinese foreign ministry's spokesman asserted: "China will not interfere in the internal affairs of the Maldives, and this is also a basic norm governing the international relations enshrined in the UN Charter."