China knew about Russia’s war plans, asked to delay until after Olympics 

Chinese officials asked Russian officials to delay Russia’s invasion of Ukraine until after the 2022 Winter Olympics in Ukraine, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing a Western intelligence report. 

According to the report, Chinese officials were aware of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war plans before the invasion took place. 

The information about the exchange was collected by a Western intelligence service and was considered credible after review, reported the Times. 

The Olympics held its closing ceremony on February 20. The day after, Putin ordered a “special military operation” against Ukraine, and Russian troops entered Ukraine’s separatist regions in the east. 

Since then, Russia has carried out a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, firing missiles and bombing several cities. 

When asked whether China knew about Russia’s plans, the Chinese Embassy spokesperson in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said: “These claims are speculation without any basis, and are intended to blame-shift and smear China.”

The governments of China and Russia have had close economic, diplomatic, and military ties for years. 

“China has expressed support for Mr. Putin’s grievances against the United States and NATO, joined Russia to try to block action on Ukraine at the United Nations Security Council, and brushed aside American warnings that an invasion would create ‘global security and economic risks’ that could consume China, too,” reported the New York Times ahead of the Olympics.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin issued a joint statement after the opening ceremony of the Olympics on February 4, saying that their partnership was strong and denounced NATO enlargement. This was the first time China supported Russia’s stance on NATO, raising alarms in the west.