China has called for de-escalation after Ukrainian troops launched a surprise assault inside Russia.
According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Beijing's position was "consistent and clear".
They called on all parties to observe the principles for de-escalating the situation - including not letting the fighting spread and avoiding fanning the flames of the conflict.
China will "continue to play a constructive role in facilitating a political settlement of the crisis", according to the spokesperson.
Beijing claims to take a neutral position on the war in Ukraine, but has forged increasingly close ties with Moscow as it has gone on.
