China denies it demanded Russia wait to invade until after Winter Olympics

BEIJING, China — China on Thursday denied a New York Times report that it asked Russia to delay its invasion of Ukraine until after the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Chinese officials had told senior Russian officials not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics, citing senior officials in the  Biden administration as well as a European official.

The report said Beijing had some level of direct knowledge about Russia’s war plans or intentions before the invasion started last week, four days after the Olympics closing ceremony.

In Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed the report.

“The New York Times report is complete fake news. These kinds of diversionary, blame-shifting remarks are thoroughly despicable,” said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.

Beijing has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine but has stopped short of outright support. In the weeks leading up to the February 24 invasion, Chinese state media repeatedly dismissed Western warnings as US hype and did not evacuate its citizens from Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was the first world leader to meet Xi in nearly two years and was a guest of honor at the Winter Games opening ceremony.

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution condemning Moscow’s invasion, which demanded that Russia “immediately” withdraw from Ukraine.

China was among 35 countries that abstained, while just five — Eritrea, North Korea, Syria, Belarus and Russia — voted against it.