China’s state news agency: US fed lies to media about Beijing’s knowledge of Russia’s plans to attack Ukraine

China's state news agency has accused the US government of feeding "slanderous news" to the media and denied reports that Beijing had direct knowledge of Russia's plans to invade Ukraine.

In an editorial published on Wednesday, Xinhua, the state news agency, said a report published last week in The New York Times was a "downright lie".

Taiwan looks to Ukraine invasion for battle strategy tips against PLA

"Shifting blame to China, misleading the world and transferring accountability away from the crisis culprit, this is a malicious intention," the editorial said.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

"The US government routinely feeds information to targeted media like The New York Times in the name of an intelligence organisation in order to spin public opinion to its own advantage.

"Media like The New York Times then play along in a double act by spreading rumours with lies to maximise Washington's interests. All of this is to cover up the fact that the US was the ultimate culprit in the Ukraine crisis".

The New York Times report said that in early February senior Chinese officials had asked their Russian counterparts to delay the invasion until the Winter Olympics in Beijing had finished.

The report cited US and Europe officials who had read "a Western intelligence report" that indicated Beijing's leadership "has had some level of direct knowledge about Russia's war plans or intentions before the invasion started".

Sources with ties to the White House subsequently told other media organisations, including the South China Morning Post, that senior Russian officials told their Chinese counterparts on February 4 that Moscow was going to conduct a military operation in Ukraine, but it was unclear whether the exchange took place in a direct conversation between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin or through other senior channels.

The two presidents met before the start of the Winter Games in Beijing and issued a joint statement describing their strategic partnership as one characterised by "no limits".

The statement also said the two countries would build a new global order, decried "certain states" for trying to impose their own standards of democracy and expressed opposition to the "further enlargement of Nato".

China unsettled by Ukraine but don't misjudge Xi on Taiwan, warns CIA director

Chinese diplomats have repeatedly denied the reports, saying they are without foundation.

The closing Olympic ceremony was held on February 20. The next day Putin convened an unscheduled meeting of Russia's security council, which recognised the independence of two separatist-held regions of Ukraine, before launching the invasion on February 24.

Since the invasion began, Beijing has refused to criticise Putin's aggression and repeatedly referred to Moscow's "legitimate security concerns".

But Beijing has said the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations should be respected and tried to maintain its balancing act by calling for negotiations and warning of the risk of a massive humanitarian crisis.

The editorial also said: "The US has been staging colour revolutions around Russia since the turn of the century, placing its supporters in power and turning Ukraine into a bridgehead to promote American geopolitical interests.

"It is fuelling the tension. It pretends to be trying to put out the fire but in fact it is setting the fire.

"China's stance on Ukraine remains consistent. We respect the sovereignty and integrity of all nations and we believe in resolving international disputes in accordance with the UN Charter and the principle of peaceful resolution.

"We support all efforts to bring a peaceful solution and encourage Russia and Ukraine to use dialogue to find a solution that is conducive to the safety of Europe. We also believe nobody should sacrifice other nations' security to satisfy its own security needs. And security can not be achieved through expansion of a military block."

Copyright (c) 2022. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.