Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on the US to respect Russia's security concerns over Ukraine, in a show of solidarity with Moscow as it faces mounting opposition to its stance towards its neighbour.
Delivered by Wang to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken by telephone on Thursday, the comments were the furthest China has gone so far in supporting Russia's position on Ukraine.
Russia, which has been building up its forces on Ukraine's borders for months, has demanded that Nato pull back troops and weapons from eastern Europe and bar Ukraine, a former Soviet state, from ever joining the security alliance - a stipulation that Nato has rejected.
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'New shocks': US hasn't followed direction leaders discussed, China tells Blinken
Beijing's statement following the Wang-Blinken phone call quoted Wang as saying that "Russia's reasonable security concerns should be taken seriously and resolved".
"We call on all parties to remain calm and refrain from doing things that stimulate tension and hype up the crisis," the statement read.
During the call, according to the statement, Wang emphasised that the security of one country should not be at the expense of the security of others, and regional security could not be guaranteed by strengthening or expanding military blocs.
The United States and its Nato allies have said that they are ready to discuss with Russia matters such as arms control and confidence-building measures.
Blinken "underscored the global security and economic risks posed by further Russian aggression against Ukraine and conveyed that de-escalation and diplomacy are the responsible way forward", US State Department spokesman Ned Price said after the phone call.
On Wednesday, Blinken had revealed that the US sent a written document to Moscow in an attempt to deter Russia from invading Ukraine.
"The document we've delivered includes concerns of the United States and our allies and partners about Russia's actions that undermine security, a principled and pragmatic evaluation of the concerns that Russia has raised, and our own proposals for areas where we may be able to find common ground," Blinken told reporters at the State Department.
Washington has urged Russia and Ukraine to return to a set of pacts known as Minsk I and Minsk II, signed in 2014 and 2015 respectively, to end a separatist war by Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.