But Beijing has declined to say whether it would help Moscow in evading them.

On the eve of the invasion, with tens of thousands of Russian troops massed on the Ukraine border, China’s ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, said Beijing was “pleased” to see that the yuan was widely used in Russian trade, investment and foreign reserve transactions; within hours of the attack, Beijing announced it was fully open to Russian wheat imports despite earlier restrictions it had imposed over potential plant diseases.

Chollet declined to comment on reports, based on US intelligence sources, that senior Russian officials warned the Chinese on February 4 that they were planning a “military operation” in Ukraine. According to the sources, Beijing did not express support or opposition when given advance notice but asked that any action be delayed until after the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Told of Ukraine move, China asked Russia to wait until Olympics ended: sources

The invasion started on February 24, four days after the closing ceremony.

“I can’t speak to that, whether they were surprised by Russia’s actions,” said Chollet, a senior adviser to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “A lot of the world was surprised. We weren’t because we were seeing the intel and trying to share it with everyone the best we could.”

“This is a consistent message that we’ve given the Chinese and all other countries. Now is the time for the world to step up and speak with one voice against what is an unprovoked, unjustified, premeditated invasion,” said Chollet, who has previously held positions at the White House and Department of Defence.

‘China should be worried’: Anger grows in Europe as Russian invasion rolls on

A secondary US objective would be for Beijing to help address the massive humanitarian crisis caused by the Russian invasion, the US official added. “The bottom line is, we want China to become more a part of the solution, not trying to stand on the sidelines or, worse, exacerbate problems.”

At one point, according to a New York Times report, Washington even shared the intelligence with Beijing and urged it to try and dissuade Moscow only to see China turn around and inform Russia. Moscow subsequently derided the US for “hysteria”.

“You can imagine how angry that made folks at the NSC,” said Jeffrey Moon, a former National Security Council official.

Chollet said the intelligence-sharing approach was effective and helped prepare people for the sacrifices that sanctions would require, but added that every crisis was different and that the same playbook would not necessarily be effective next time.

On Wednesday, 141 nations voted in a rare special session of the United Nations General Assembly to condemn the Russian invasion, 35 including China abstained and five including Russia opposed.

In a press conference on Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China did so because the resolution failed to consider the “history and complexity” of the situation.

Chollet said Washington would have preferred that China support a tougher UN Security Council resolution Sunday – which was vetoed by Russia as China abstained – or that it had outright supported the resolution on Wednesday resolution. “Sometimes even abstentions speak very loudly,” he said.

UN experts say that China prefers working behind the scenes whenever possible without showcasing its opposition, in keeping with Wednesday’s abstention.

“Even though Russia uses its veto more promiscuously, while China often abstains, it is hard to imagine council action in the current environment where the two former antagonists would be on opposite sides,” said a 2020 Brookings Institution report.

China ‘concerned’ about Ukraine’s nuclear safety as Russians advance

On Thursday, Wang repeated China’s claim that provocative US statements caused the Russian invasion. “We hope the culprits of the crisis can reflect upon their roles in the Ukraine crisis,” Wang said. “They should earnestly shoulder due responsibilities.”

Chollet rebuked the claim and pointed out that Beijing was in the global minority.

“I can’t get into their motives on what’s behind what they said. All I can say is I categorically reject any suggestion that somehow Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified invasion of Ukraine, of the largest country in Europe, is somehow anyone’s fault other than their own.

“Not just the United States rejects that, but the balance of the world rejects that by a large margin.”

‘China will not ride to the rescue’ even as Russia trade defies sanctions

When it has signed on – as it did in early 2016, supporting a United Nations resolution against ally North Korea after Pyongyang tested what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb – it has been criticised for undercutting their effectiveness.

“These are going to be meaningful sanctions against Russia and this is going to hurt,” said Chollet. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”