Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
U.S. officials tried half a dozen times over three months to get China to help head off a Russian invasion of Ukraine — but were repeatedly rebuffed by Beijing, The New York Times reports.
Why it matters: The U.S. kept presenting Beijing with intelligence on Russia's buildup around Ukraine "and beseeched the Chinese to tell Russia not to invade," according to The Times. The Chinese, including the foreign minister and the ambassador to the U.S., said they did not think an invasion was in the works.
"After one diplomatic exchange in December," The Times writes, "U.S. officials got intelligence showing Beijing had shared the information with Moscow."
- The Chinese said the U.S. "was trying to sow discord — and that China would not try to impede Russian plans and actions."