The United States has urged China to use its influence with Moscow to discourage any Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The BBC's Barbara Plett Usher reports from Washington.

[Reporter]
China has called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict and it may have influence with Russia because the two countries have been drawing closer together as both of them, their relations with the West and especially the United States have grown more and more tense.

But you know, that's the point really, that relations between the United States and China are at their lowest in years.

And so, when the Chinese foreign minister spoke about the State Department's request for them to take steps to bolster diplomacy, the response was, well, NATO and the U.S. should also take seriously what they called the "reasonable" security concerns of the Russians, and also that all sides should avoid actions that hype up the crisis.