"Sanctions would not only fail to resolve problems but would also create new ones" - China

China has repeatedly called for dialogue in the crisis. After a call last week between Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, and Vladimir Putin, China said Putin was willing to engage in "high-level" dialogue with Ukraine. 

According to report, China said Beijing and Moscow are "partners" but not allies as it pledged to not interfere in the Ukraine crisis. 

It came as a senior US defence official said China was in the "awkward" position of trying to sustain ties with Moscow during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

China continues to take an ambiguous stance on the conflict in an effort to stand by Moscow even as the US and EU are escalating sanctions. Beijing has refused to condemn the attack or even call it an invasion. 

China and Russia are "comprehensive strategic partners" but their relationship features "non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party", Wang Wenbin, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said during a regular briefing in Beijing on Monday. 

Mr Wang said all countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected but that Beijing understood "Russia's legitimate security concerns". Asked whether China's stance on the Ukraine crisis was "neutral", he said China was "always on the side of peace and justice".

China has been maintaining a cordial relationship with Ukraine, which counts it as its largest trading partner. Mr Wang said Beijing's ties with Kyiv would remain "co-operative" and "based on mutual respect and non-interference". 

He said sanctions would not only "fail to resolve problems" but would also "create new ones", adding: "China and Russia will continue to conduct normal trade co-operation in the spirit of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit."

China has also given evasive answers on whether Putin notified Beijing that he was planning to invade Ukraine, saying Russia is an independent country that does not need China's consent. 

Putin and Xi met earlier this month at the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing and signed a strategic partnership meant to counter the influence of the US. The two countries said in a joint statement there were "no 'forbidden' areas of co-operation". 

Kurt Campbell, the United States' Indo-Pacific policy coordinator, said on Monday that China was in an "awkward" position of trying to sustain ties with Russia and Washington was determined to keep communication lines with Beijing open.