Hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in eastern Ukraine, the US accused Moscow and Beijing of both together creating a "profoundly illiberal" world order.

The Ukraine-Russia crisis is giving a major challenge for China on many fronts.

The ever-closer diplomatic ties between Russia and China could be seen at the Winter Games with Mr Putin coming to Beijing as one of the few known world leaders to attend.

Significantly, Mr Putin waited until just after the Games were over to recognise the two breakaway regions of Ukraine and send in troops to back them.

In its public pronouncements, the Chinese government has urged all sides to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine.

But now that Russia has got rid of all restraints, where does that leave China's official position as clashes escalate?

The Chinese government thinks it cannot be seen to support war in Europe but also wants to strengthen military and strategic ties with Moscow.

Ukraine's main trading partner is China and Beijing would ideally like to keep good relations with Kyiv but this could be difficult to manage when it is clearly so closely aligned with the government which is sending its troops into Ukrainian territory.

There is also the potential for trade backlash on China from Western Europe if it is judged to be backing Russia's aggression.

在俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京宣布在乌克兰东部采取军事行动的几个小时前，美国指责莫斯科和北京共同创造了一个“极度不自由”的世界秩序。

乌克兰-俄罗斯危机在许多方面给中国带来了重大挑战。

俄罗斯和中国之间日益密切的外交关系可以在冬奥会上看到，普京先生作为为数不多的知名世界领导人之一来到北京。

值得注意的是，普京等到奥运会刚刚结束才承认乌克兰的两个分离地区，并派兵支持它们。

中国政府在公开声明中敦促各方缓和乌克兰的紧张局势。

但是现在俄罗斯已经摆脱了所有的束缚，随着冲突的升级，中国的官方立场又将何去何从？

中国政府认为不能被视为支持欧洲战争，但也希望加强与莫斯科的军事和战略联系。

乌克兰的主要贸易伙伴是中国，理想情况下，北京希望与基辅保持良好关系，但这可能难以管理，因为它显然与向乌克兰领土派遣军队的政府如此紧密地结盟。

如果中国被判定支持俄罗斯的侵略，西欧也有可能对中国进行贸易反弹。

By F.Aslam