China rejects US claims on inaction over Russia's Ukraine move

The Foreign Ministry on Monday refuted allegations from the United States that China didn't try to stop Russia although it had been alerted about Moscow's planned attack on Ukraine.

An unidentified senior US official said that Washington had informed China of Russia's attempt to attack Ukraine six times since last December and asked it to dissuade its northern neighbor from the move, but China thought otherwise, and even shared the information with Russia, explicitly assuring the Kremlin that it would not intervene.

In response, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a press conference in Beijing that China resolutely rejects any fabrications by the US aimed at smearing China.

Wang noted that Thomas Friedman, a US expert on international issues, and Tulsi Gabbard, a former member of the US House of Representatives, have criticized their country's role in the Ukraine crisis.

It's high time the US reflected on its own behavior, he said.

The spokesman stressed that China's stance and policies are always decided in light of the rights and wrongs of the issue itself, and it always chooses to stand on the side of peace and justice.