

A Kurdish fighter aims at an Islamic State group position in Kobane, Syria, on Nov. 23. (Jake Simkin/Associated Press)

An editorial in the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's Communist Party, argued that the United States and its allies were fanning the flames of extremism in the Middle East.

The commentary was penned under the pseudonym "Zhong Sheng," or "Voice of China," which the paper often uses when it's articulating the establishment's line on Chinese foreign policy, according to the Reuters news agency. Its contents echoed Beijing's long-standing position on Western interventions in various hot spots and conflicts, which China often deems a violation of states' sovereignty and a challenge to the international order.

Moreover, the editorial insists, the United States and its allies have created a Frankenstein's monster in the region by backing various rebel militias with jihadist connections.

"The facts prove that by letting jihadists pass unchecked into Syria to join battle has caused the expansion of the extremist group Islamic State (sic)," says the People's Daily, referring to the Islamist militant organization that now controls swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria.

"This is a classic case of how rearing a tiger will court calamity," it goes on. "The entry of major powers must avoid by all means adding to the chaos."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained this position all along, warning of the instability that would be unleashed if the West actively enabled the toppling of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a longtime Moscow ally. "It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance," Putin suggested in a 2013 New York Times op-ed — a warning, critics would contend, that rings hollow after his own government's meddling in Ukraine this year.

But Putin and China are hardly alone in their wariness of Western intervention. Earlier this week, Ilham Aliyev, the long-ruling president of Azerbaijan, whose relations with Russia blow hot and cold, made similar comments.

The Islamic State "did not fly in from another planet,” Aliyev said, adding that it was the "fruit of policies carried out in the Middle East over the past 10 years" — a not-so-subtle reference to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Azerbaijani, Russian and Chinese nationals are all known to have journeyed to Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State, which is also known variously as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh. Aliyev criticized the Western and Arab governments that he claims have abetted or encouraged some of the rebel factions in Syria.

"This proves once again that in matters of support for radical fanatical groups, more care and foresight is needed. You cannot divide terrorists into good and bad, so that a good terrorist is one that is fighting against your enemy and a bad terrorist is fighting against you," Aliyev said.

Meanwhile, Assad remains stubbornly defiant. In an interview with the French magazine Paris Match published this week, he even criticized the Western-led air campaign that's targeting the Islamic State and other jihadist factions — his enemies — in Syria.

"It isn't true that the strikes are helpful. They would of course have helped had they been serious and efficient. We are running the ground battles against Daesh," Assad said. "And we have noticed no change."