While China has called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, it has refused to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and there are concerns Beijing could help Moscow evade the sanctions and provide it with military support. Beijing has also resisted pressure to use its leverage with close ally Moscow to help end the war.

A joint statement released after Sunday’s talks said China and Algeria opposed the use of unilateral sanctions and supported “indivisible security” – a term frequently used by Moscow to oppose Nato enlargement.

Those points were repeated in Islamabad on Monday, when Wang met his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi. They also raised concern over the “spillover effect of unilateral sanctions”. Islamabad also abstained from voting on the General Assembly resolutions.

Tanzania abstained from the earlier vote, and in virtual talks on Sunday, Wang and Tanzanian Foreign Minister Liberata Mulamula called for “stronger solidarity” among developing nations on the “turbulent international situation”.

Beijing has also been reaching out to countries that voted to condemn Moscow in the earlier resolution, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Zambia.

Meeting Wang in Islamabad on Tuesday, Egypt’s top diplomat Sameh Shoukry opposed efforts to “pressure China” over Ukraine, according to the Chinese side.

Zambian Foreign Minister Stanley Kakubo praised China for playing a “leading role” in mediation when he met Wang in Anhui province on Saturday.

And in talks in Islamabad on Wednesday, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud agreed with Wang that all nations should “withstand external pressure” and make their own judgment on the Ukraine crisis.

China’s foreign ministry on Monday described Beijing’s position on Ukraine as similar to that of other developing countries, saying it was in the “majority”. Spokesman Wang Wenbin said these countries shared China’s concern about being forced to pick a side and that they wanted neither war nor sanctions.

“So it is even more important for China to rally support for its position from other countries,” Sun said. “Its position is clear – it will not oppose Russia, and it will support Ukraine.”

Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, agreed.

“Washington and its allies are pressuring China to pick a side, and China is not alone in not wanting to make that decision,” he said. “China is pushing back against that pressure by strengthening support among countries that don’t want to be forced to pick a side.”

Beijing has also taken aim at Nato as “the ultimate source of the war” since Biden’s warning to Xi on March 18, according to Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University of China in Beijing.

A day after the talks, Le Yucheng, China’s foreign vice-minister, spoke of “hard lessons” from the crisis, accusing Washington and Nato of seeking “absolute security” and “weaponising small countries”.

“The emphasis from China now is also about it not fearing pressure, and the communication with developing countries is part of that,” Shi said.

But he noted that many of those nations did not support Beijing’s position.

“A total of 141 countries voted in favour of condemning Russia in the UN, including countries that are very friendly to China like Cambodia,” Shi said, adding that most developing countries had supported the resolution.

Sun from the Stimson Centre also doubted Beijing could convince most developing nations.

“China still claims to be a developing country – a narrative that a lot of countries no longer buy,” she said. “In the case of the Ukraine crisis, more developing countries voted against Russia than for it. I don’t think it is a good example to showcase China’s siding with developing countries.”